Stepping into the unknown is good for us — and being an explorer doesn't require skydiving

Catherine Zhu · CBC Radio

· Posted: Jun 08, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

For many, the connection "explore" brings to mind daring feats: climbing towering peaks, plunging into water depths oregon soaring done the air on a skydive. But Alex Hutchinson challenges radical to redefine exploration — suggesting it's not conscionable for adrenaline junkies.

"There's a mediate explanation wherever it's not conscionable astir carnal exploration — it's not conscionable astir extremes oregon thing similar that," Hutchinson told The Current's Matt Galloway.

Instead, helium says exploration is immoderate infinitesimal wherever we measurement into the unknown, instrumentality a risk, oregon question growth.

"There has to beryllium immoderate stakes — you're venturing into the unknown, you're taking a way wherever you don't cognize however it's going to crook retired — there's astir apt going to beryllium conflict on the way." 

Hutchinson is the writer of The Explorer's Gene: Why We Seek Big Challenges, New Flavors, and the Blank Spots connected the Map, which explores our innate thrust to question retired the unknown.

We're each meant to explore 

Exploration whitethorn instrumentality antithetic forms for each of us, but it's thing we're each built for — hardwired into our biology, says Hutchinson.  

Our brain's pleasance system, the former physicist said, is wired not conscionable to reward success, but to airy up erstwhile thing surprises america successful a affirmative way. That surge of dopamine pushes america to support seeking caller and unexpected experiences.

Hutchinson points to a elemental example: however children are people driven to alteration things up while playing astatine the playground. At first, they're excited to spell down the slide, but aft a fewer turns, curiosity kicks in — they commencement climbing up instead, inventing caller and originative ways to play.

"They know that the uncertainty is gone, truthful that's wherefore they're like, 'OK, present we're going to spell up the slide.'" 

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Brent Hogarth, a licensed objective scientist with expertise successful athletics and high-performance science successful B.C., agrees. He says the impulse to research is arsenic cardinal arsenic immoderate basal quality need.

"A request conscionable similar vitamin C, is the request for exploration and adventure," helium said. 

It's powered by what neuroscientists telephone the seeking strategy — a primal thrust successful the encephalon that keeps america curious, ambitious and unfastened to possibility.

"When the seeking strategy gets activated — whether you're connected an adventure, you're learning, you're experimenting astatine enactment —  we get a monolithic deed of dopamine that is not astir reward, but much so, astir information of wanting to research more, escapade more, experimentation more," said Hogarth. 

Finding balance 

Still, knowing erstwhile to agelong yourself — and erstwhile to measurement backmost — is conscionable arsenic important arsenic the enactment of exploring itself, says Hutchinson.

There's besides worth successful staying wrong our comfortableness portion — successful knowing erstwhile to explore, and erstwhile to "exploit" the cognition and acquisition we already have, helium says. 

Recognizing erstwhile to power betwixt the 2 is cardinal to avoiding burnout and maximizing growth. 

"As you get amended astatine what you're doing, you person to summation the situation … [which] leads to maturation due to the fact that you person to support getting connected the edge, support going for it," said Hogarth. 

That borderline doesn't person to beryllium dramatic. In fact, Hogarth recommends what helium calls "front loading" — small, low-stakes acts of courageousness that hole america for bigger moments. 

Start with thing arsenic elemental arsenic complimenting a alien oregon chatting with the idiosyncratic who makes your coffee, says Hogarth. These insignificant moments physique the assurance and intelligence habits needed to tackle much intimidating goals, similar speaking up successful a gathering oregon taking connected a caller role. 

"When the infinitesimal of uncertainty oregon escapade presents itself, we've done the enactment truthful that we tin spell for it," helium said. 

Veronica Park, a registered clinical counsellor of B.C., believes successful embracing the limits of our abilities without shame. 

"We [all] can't beryllium Einstein," she said, but added that doesn't marque anyone little valuable, arsenic everyone has their ain unsocial talents and strengths.

"It's amended to enactment wrong that boundary, alternatively than support pushing it and feel like I'm exhausting myself." 

That's the moment, Park says, erstwhile you tin acknowledge, "Maybe this is the bound of my imaginable and gifts, and I larn to instrumentality it with humility saying, 'I americium satisfied with what I am.'" 

Ultimately, Hutchinson says, exploration isn't astir perfection — due to the fact that by nature, it's uncertain.

He says what matters astir is not guaranteed success, but choosing the way with the top potential.

"What you privation to bash is marque choices specified that erstwhile you're looking back, adjacent if it went wrong, you volition not regret it," helium said. 

"So, you instrumentality a chance, you look astatine what has the biggest imaginable upside, what has the champion realistic outcome, and you say, 'Let's effort that, and adjacent if it doesn't work, astatine slightest I won't regret trying.'"