To learn more about the importance of unexpectedness and surprise in our lives, Bored Panda reached out to a psychology researcher, educator, and co-author of Surprise: Embrace the Unpredictable and Engineer the Unexpected, Tania Luna. 

In the book, Luna, together with Dr. LeeAnn Renninger, shines a light on the most intriguing emotion that we humans feel and shows us how surprise can turn daily life into an adventure.

Luna tells us that, despite common belief, surprise (our reaction to something unexpected) isn’t a single emotion but a series of responses that are called the surprise sequence. 

Interestingly, the first thing our body does when reacting to an unexpected event is freeze for about 1/25 of a second. This probably happened quite a lot while you were scrolling through this list, only that you might haven’t noticed.

Then Luna says, “Our brains rapidly analyze the situation to understand what’s happening.” After we grasped what was going on, she explained that “we adjust our perspective to make sense of the surprise.”

Lastly, we get the urge to share what we went through. “We relieve the cognitive burden created by the experience by passing on our story of the surprise to others. Throughout this experience, our emotions intensify. We like to say that “surprise makes us -er” (happier, sadder, angrier, funnier, etc.),” Luna explains.

As the authors mention in the book, “We feel most comfortable when things are certain, but we feel most alive when they’re not. Even though most of us try hard to feel prepared and in control, surprise is at the heart of our most joyful and meaningful memories.”

Additional benefits of inviting surprises into our lives include elevating the mood, boosting creativity, enhancing learning, deepening relationships, increasing our resilience, slowing our perception of time, and making life more memorable. 

To embrace unexpectedness in our lives (besides visiting the Hol’Up subreddit), Luna suggests against searching for big, elaborate experiences or adventures but instead finding small, frequent surprises, which provide more fulfillment.

“Turn left where you’d usually turn right, sit in a different spot at breakfast, and shower in the afternoon. Spend more time in nature, look at people more fully, and say, “I don’t know, I wonder” often.” Accept an invitation, help someone who asks for it, and let your inner voice guide you to something spontaneous.”

Additionally, she recommends seeking novelty, like visiting a new neighborhood, reading a new genre, or signing up for a random class. “Leave someone a small gift, compliment a coworker, and take your dog on an unexpected walk. Be unprepared: don’t check the weather forecast, don’t Google images of a place before you go there, and ask ChatGPT to assign you mini missions for the day.”

For those who are really set on inviting more unexpectedness into their lives, Luna suggests giving themselves a surprise streak challenge. “Surprise yourself or someone else at least once per week!”