Tom’s neighbor is a member of a group called Extreme Desert Gardeners. The group tries to grow things that shouldn’t grow well in the desert. His neighbor’s yard is a rotating experiment. Some experiments work, and some don’t, but his neighbor never seems to get discouraged. She just tries again.

That unfazed quality is central to an experimenter’s mindset. Once you develop it, it spreads to other areas of your life, becomes a source of resilience, and helps keep you mentally agile.

Try these tips if you’d like to improve your own experimenter’s mindset.

1. Engage With a Community of Experimenters

Most people don’t operate with an experimenter’s mindset. To learn from others’ thinking patterns and receive encouragement, join an experimentation-oriented community that interests you.

For example, you might familiarize yourself with the "beer money" subreddit, which is devoted to low-effort side gigs that bring in a little extra cash (it has nothing to do with beer!).

Or, you might participate in a community of people using AI for automation or to create AI-driven businesses.

There are a lot of experiment-driven communities to choose from, depending on your goals and interests.

2. Desensitize Yourself to Non-Reward

We’ve all heard the stories of inventors who made hundreds of unsuccessful attempts at an invention before their breakthrough.

If trying an experiment that doesn’t work makes you put off trying again for two years, that’s a problem. If the sting of temporary defeat makes you put off trying again for two days, that’s probably fine.

One form of non-reward that can be discouraging is social silence. For example, you post a question in a forum and get no response. If you ruminate about that for days afterward, you’ll hesitate too much.

An experimenter’s mindset requires being relatively unbothered when experiments don’t work. If that’s not your natural response, it’s a skill you’ll need to build, at least to an extent.

3. Try Things You Expect Not to Work

We often have biases that prevent us from trying things.

For example, you might assume AI couldn’t help you resolve a recurring argument pattern with your spouse. But then you spend 30 minutes asking it questions about your situation from various angles, and eventually, it gives you an excellent suggestion.

An experimenter’s mindset involves trying things you expect not to work, because sometimes they do.

4. Specify a Goal and Poke at It Repeatedly Until You Succeed

Imagine you’d like to add $500 a month to your income with the lowest stress side gig possible. You may not crack that nut straight away. If you come back and revisit that goal repeatedly, you eventually will.

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Even having repeated conversations with AI about your goal and how you could approach it, or visiting a forum, can help you progress. Ask AI all the questions you’d be too self-conscious to ask real people.

People are often shy about articulating exactly what they’re trying to do. It’s ok to specify the requirements that make "the juice worth the squeeze" for you. Don’t be ashamed of any limitations or circumstances you need to work with.

For example, if your energy is unpredictable due to a health condition, plans that require daily consistency will fail. Be upfront about what you’re trying to accomplish and your requirements.

5. Test the Part That’s the Most Unknown First

Say you want to create something technical. Some aspects of that project might be very familiar from having done similar things before. Don’t build those parts before you test the parts you’re unsure about.

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The same applies outside of tech. You’re considering meal prepping for the week on Sundays. If the biggest unknown isn’t anything about the efficiency of the routine but whether your family will actually want to eat the meal-prepped food, test that first.

6. Experiment Regularly

An experimenter’s mindset isn’t something you can switch on and off when it’s convenient. If you want it to be available, you have to use it regularly. The mental attitude of "I wonder if that might work" or "I wonder how that works" and similar curious questioning, once turned on, will tend to permeate your life.

Having an experimenter’s mindset related to business or finances is likely to spill over to other areas. For example, you take an experimenter’s approach to asking your children about their day. You try different conversation starters to see what gets you more than a minimal response. Or, you try different "ins" to encourage their curiosity and observe what gets unexpectedly good results.

7. Try Things Without Proof They’ve Worked for Others

In an age of abundant tutorials, some folks are unwilling to try anything they don’t already know works. Needing this type of certainty undercuts an experimenter’s mindset.

An Experimenter’s Mindset Creates Resilience

If you’re comfortable in your life, you might consider an experimenter’s mindset as merely a "nice to have," but it’s more than that; it’s a source of resilience.

There will likely be times in your life when you need an experimenter’s mindset to get out of a jam. For example, if your industry is changing quickly and you need to adapt, or you need to cope with a stressor, like a job loss. Or, perhaps you need to help your child navigate a challenging time they’re experiencing, or navigate a challenging time you’re experiencing. An experimenter’s mindset can help you stay flexible and keep trying instead of feeling stuck.

Even if you feel comfortable and resilient enough without it, an experimenter’s mindset can help you stay cognitively sharp and nimble.