Editor's note: To round out the year, we've been sharing some of our favorite essays on investing and life. So today, we're continuing our series with a word from our friend and colleague Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig. In this piece, published last month in his free daily Health & Wealth Bulletin, Doc explains why we get set in our ways – and why, sometimes, breaking your routine can lead to surprising rewards...

It's Time to Try Something New

By Dr. David Eifrig, editor, Health & Wealth Bulletin

You might not want to follow my advice today...

As humans, we prefer the known to the unknown.

Picture your favorite restaurant, for example...

You go to this special place every month or so because the wine is good, the waitstaff is friendly, and you love the food. But think about it... How much of the food do you actually love?

In my experience, most folks have two or three favorite dishes. Every time they go to their favorite restaurant, they just rotate among those two or three meals. They don't experiment much with the rest of the menu.

I know when I go down to a little Italian restaurant outside of our offices here at Stansberry Research, I rarely venture away from the chicken parmesan (and a side of broccoli with garlic).

Study after study proves that we are less likely to try new things. But in both life and investing, that tendency could be holding you back...

Once folks have a routine and certain preferences, it's hard to stray from them.

Even if someone told me the cappellini alla lula was twice as good as the chicken parm, I wouldn't immediately want to try it. I know what to expect when the waiter brings me the chicken parm.

But the cappellini alla lula is unknown... I could love it or I could hate it. That uncertainty is enough to make most of us unwilling to break our routines.

For instance, one study from 2015 looked at the travel behaviors of commuters on the London Underground. Better known as "the Tube," the world's oldest underground railway network handles millions of passengers each day.

On February 4, 2014, London Underground workers went on a two-day strike, which caused some Tube stations to close. This forced certain commuters to experiment and find new routes to their work. After the two-day strike ended, all stations were open and back to normal operations.

Once all stations were working again, most commuters went back to their old route. After all, old habits die hard.

But some commuters – about 1 in 20 – decided to stick with the new route they discovered when the strike was occurring.

According to the study, the few who stuck with the new route saved nearly seven minutes on their normally 32-minute average commute. The study also found that if the strike had been longer, more folks would have likely found faster routes and shaved more time off their commutes.

This shows how reluctant we are to try new things. It took a strike and the closure of many stations for passengers to find a faster route. They could have found that route long ago if they had simply experimented a bit...

But again, it's tough to break old habits.

Investing is no different. Investors are reluctant to try new things.

Many folks in the market are simply "buy and hold" investors. That works for the majority of us because it's simple. You find quality businesses that trade for reasonable prices, and you hold them because you know that over time those businesses will get even better. You'll grow your wealth gradually.

But if you just buy and hold stocks, you're depriving yourself...

By closing yourself off to anything that is foreign or new, you're missing out on potentially better moneymaking opportunities. Don't be afraid to try new strategies... and learn new things.

Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,

Dr. David Eifrig

Editor's note: For more ideas on how to live well and grow your wealth in retirement, make sure you're reading Doc's free Health & Wealth Bulletin. This e-letter is your daily source for little-known investment strategies, financial "life hacks," healthy habits, and contrarian coverage of how the market affects you and your money... Check it out right here.

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