Using strengths in new ways improves mood for three to six months, compared to a week or two for using strengths in ways you have before. This means more happiness and less depression for longer. So it’s worth doing.

You want to do something new for a week to get the full impact. So either choose one thing you can do every day for a week, or choose a variety of new things that allow you to do something new every day for a week. For example, you might do one thing for three days, and four things for one day each.

If you think of a new idea that could fit on one of these lists, please let me know in the comments.

Strength #2 Curiosity

2. Curiosity [interest, novelty-seeking, openness to experience]: this strength involves trying new things and searching for new knowledge. The new things could be activities, challenging opportunities or other experiences. The new experiences could involve meeting people, travel, or learning new skills. Learning could involve a quest to answer a specific question, or just the desire to know new things in general. Curious people are interested in the new and unknown. They are also interested in asking questions and building their knowledge. Studies show that curiosity is linked to life satisfaction, happiness, better health, living longer and getting on well with others.

2. List of new ways to use this strength

1. Take a bus or drive or walk to a park you haven’t been to before.
2. Go to a new museum or art gallery or new exhibit at a museum/gallery you’ve been to before.
3. Say to yourself “I wonder if I can do this – it will be interesting to find out” when faced with a challenge or new project. Try to focus more on curiosity than fear of failure.
4. Sign up for a class on a new topic that you find interesting.
5. Walk to work a different way.
6. When you meet someone new, wonder what they could tell you that you’ve never heard before – ask them questions about their life to see what experiences they’ve had that are different or interesting.
7. Buy a tent or a van and stay at places you’ve never been to before. See what’s there that you had no idea about.
8. Go to a restaurant or cafe you haven’t been to before.
9. Try a new food, possibly from a different culture.
10. Explore a new area or neighborhood on foot.
11. Wonder about the people who live in each house.
12. Look for new information on a topic you are interested in but know nothing about.
13. Attend a talk or event from a different culture from the one(s) you grew up with.
14. Think about what is different about this culture and look for values, rituals and activities you might like to add to your own life.
15. Pick a country you’d like to visit and find out about places to visit, activities, local customs and transport.
16. Ask someone who is enthusiastic about a topic you’re interested in for new information and ideas and how you can learn more.
17. Go onto Reddit and type one or two letters in the search box, starting with A, then Aa, then Ab etc. See what topics come up and which ones you feel excited about or interested in.
18. Check out the groups for these topics and join the ones that interest you.
19. Attend or set up a discussion group, salon or tertulia to talk about things the people there are passionate about. Invite people you find interesting, even if their interests are different from yours.
20. Make a meal you’ve never made before from a different culture, using ingredients you’re not familiar with, such as palm sugar, seaweed, jellyfish or shrimp paste.
21. If you live near a library that holds a ‘Human Library’ of different types of people, go along and talk to someone you wouldn’t normally interact with.
22. Volunteer at a food bank or charity store, and talk to the people who come in and find out about their lives.
23. Try and find out something you don’t know about your own culture.
24. Compile a list of things you want to know about your favorite topic, then try to answer them, using online resources, libraries, experts and people you know who are also interested in that topic.
25. Research a historical era that interests or intrigues you.
26. Visit a town, district, state or country you haven’t been to before. Explore it by foot or e-scooter, and really look at houses, trees, gardens, statues and artworks.
27. See if you can strike up a conversation with someone there who can tell you a bit more about the place, especially someone who has lived there a long time.
28. Make a list of your top three interests and look for groups, conferences, shows, fairs or meetings that you could attend about one of them.
29. Ask a friend who has a completely different interest to you to talk about it. Listen and ask questions about anything you don’t understand or find interesting.
30. Try to learn a new skill, even if you’re not terribly interested in it, such as paper making, candle making, playing an instrument or crochet.
31. Listen to a podcast on a topic that interests you, or even a random topic you’re not particularly drawn to.