Lens Of Luck 3: The "New Car Smell" of the Soul – How to Artificially Reset Awareness

Lens Of Luck 3: The "New Car Smell" of the Soul – How to Artificially Reset Awareness

By Jason Shelfer: Host of The Living Lucky® Podcast

Remember the "Firsts"?

The first night in your new home, when you ordered pizza and sat on the floor because the furniture hadn't arrived yet? The first date with your spouse, where every word felt like a spark and you hung on every sentence? The first day of that big promotion, when you felt like you’d finally arrived?

In those moments, your life had that "New Car Smell." You were fully present because the experience was New.

But as the French novelist Marcel Proust famously said:

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes."

The problem most of us face in mid-life isn't that our "landscapes" have become bad; it’s that our "eyes" have become old. We’ve looked at the same kitchen, the same partner, and the same career so many times that we’ve lost the ability to see them.

In business, we celebrate "disruptors"—the ones who break the status quo to find a better way. In our personal lives, we need to do the same thing.

Habituation is the status quo of the soul. It’s the habit of "Normal." When your life becomes a predictable loop, your brain goes into power-save mode. It stops recording the details.

To get that "New Car Smell" back, you don't need a new car. You need a Pattern Interrupt. You need to artificially disrupt your vantage point so your brain is forced to "re-load" your reality in high definition.

Jana and I have practiced a tool for years that we call The Tourist Reset (sometimes we call it Rookie Reset). Think about when you travel to a foreign country. You notice everything—the smell of the air, the architecture of the buildings, the way the locals interact. You are in a state of constant Awe because you have no "habit" for that environment.

But here is the Living Lucky® secret: Your current life is someone else’s dream vacation.

There is someone out there who would give anything to walk through your front door, sit at your table, and have your "problems." To them, your life is exotic. To you, it’s just Tuesday.

The Tool: The Artificial Reset

If you want to break the habit of "Normal," you have to change your vantage point—physically or mentally.

1. The Physical Shift: Eat dinner in a different room tonight. Walk a different route to your office. Sit in a different chair. When you change your physical perspective, your brain cannot rely on its "autopilot" map. It has to actually look at what’s in front of it.

2. The "Foreigner’s Eyes" Prompt: Close your eyes for thirty seconds. Imagine you are a tourist who just landed in this city. You’ve been told that the person you are about to meet (your spouse) is a fascinating local legend. You’ve been told that the house you are entering is a historic landmark. Now, open your eyes. What do you see that you haven't noticed in five years?

The Science of Awe

In his book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life, Dacher Keltner explains that "Awe" is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast that transcends your current understanding of the world.

When we artificially reset our awareness, we invite Awe back into the mundane. We realize that the "Impossible" we engineered years ago is still standing right in front of us.

Don't wait for a crisis to make you appreciate what you have. Don't wait for the "New Car Smell" to fade before you decide to enjoy the ride.

Your life is a masterpiece. If it feels dull, it’s not because the colors have faded—it’s because your Lens is dirty.

Until then, consider: If you were visiting your life for only 48 hours, what would you be most afraid to leave behind?

Go look at that thing with "Foreigner’s Eyes" today.

Start Living Lucky® by disrupting your "Normal" and reclaiming your Wonder