Robot Clothes

Robot in a window, Soho NYC

I have a great new business idea. Robot clothes. Here is the problem: All of the clothes are designed for humans—and they don’t even tend to fit very well. Imagine being a robot and needing a new outfit. Where would you go?

Walking along a crowded sidewalk in the cold, I suddenly realized that I had just walked past a robot in a store window. I backtracked and took a photo for my kids. When I showed them, they were excited. “Did you get one!?” they asked. This robot was larger than human sized and decorative, I said. They waited fairly patiently for more. They clearly wanted me to explain why I had not gotten it anyway.

“It wasn’t a robot store,” I tried again. “It was a clothing store.”

“Did it have robot clothes!?!” They asked. Now they were excited. The logic was definitely there.

It never occurred to me to open a store for robot attire. I am a boring adult, but I’m trying to do better.

Habits and Small Adventures

One of my goals for the year is to actually do new things, to take the small adventures, to say yes. In January, I accepted a karaoke invitation. I had a great time. I didn’t sing. 

No need to set the bar too high.  

This weekend, I went to a small, quirky local museum that I’ve heard about many times but have never checked out for myself. It was hard to figure out where to park and what entrance to use. Were we supposed to sign up for the guided tour? Questions abounded, but it was fun and engaging, and it was different.

All too often, I find myself doing the same things. Going somewhere familiar so much easier: no wrong turns, no questions about where things are to be found or about what the experience will be will be like. 

Think of how much time is wasted at an unfamiliar grocery store trying to find a familiar product. Sure, there’s an app for that, but I don't need an app if I’m at my usual store. Following a habit saves time and energy. That can be very, very good. It can even be essential.

What I tend to do, though, is find myself falling into habits when I don’t need to, when I should be exploring. This year, I’m trying to trick myself. I’m trying to harness the power of habits, the time and energy-saving potential, in the service of a paradoxical new habit of breaking out of habits and just doing the new things that come up as possibilities but that I would typically not actually do. 

This weekend’s particular adventure won’t become a regular event, but I’m hopeful that doing new things will.