“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
During the last quarter of 2025, I continued what I call my Australian Experiment. This experiment was incepted in 2019 when I booked a 2-month trip to test or answer the question:
“Can I work remotely from Australia so I can spend more time there?”
In parallel with my 2025 Australian Experiment that began in September, my husband, Paul and I planned a new endeavour we call our Mayne Island Experiment. A random visit one August weekend to Mayne Island (one of the Southern Gulf Islands between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island), planted a seed for us both. In December 2025, we asked the question,
“What would it be like to live in a rural area outside Metro Vancouver, away from a city with our dear neighbours, friends, meaningful communities, and urban conveniences?”
Our Hypotheses
The hypothesis for my Australian Experiment:
Living in Vancouver, Canada, my client connections based primarily in Canada and the US are important to me and have been my raison d’être that make my work meaningful and fulfilling. I did not want to jeopardise those relationships, nor sacrifice time with my family. If I could work remotely from Australia and still serve my North American clients and maintain the quality of our work together, I could spend more time with my family and friends in Australia. That first trip was delayed as it was booked for May 2020.
I was finally able to undertake my Australian Experiment in 2022, and again in 2025. Fast forward to December 2025 upon returning to Vancouver. I proved to myself that yes, I can work remotely from Australia, spend more time there and still fully support my clients.
The hypothesis for our Mayne Island Experiment:
If we can seamlessly work remotely from a Gulf Island, we can consider relocating out of the city into a rural area.
We will let you know our thoughts and conclusions in the next few months. Stay tuned!
When life is an experiment, you don’t need to get it right if you choose to see it as collecting data about yourself.
My training with Dr Robert Biswas-Diener and Dr Christian van Nieuwerberg to become a Certified Positive Psychology Coach has expanded my personal and professional development beyond what I anticipated. I enjoy being intellectually challenged and provoked. Paul will often play Devil’s Advocate when we are discussing various topics, and I appreciate the perspective shift that offers me. I am reflecting in this moment that I tend to attract people who create friction for me intellectually and even emotionally in a way that allows and impacts my growth. Robert is one of those people in my life, as my professional development journey continues with him.
Why is the Sky Blue?
I was a ‘why’ child and would drive adults crazy in my curiosity. I often wore them out in my persistent “Why?” to each question they answered. In grade 9, I vividly recall my Italian teacher, Ms. D’Andrea, saying in exasperation to a third or fourth consecutive “Why?” from me:
“I don’t know, Rachel, why is the sky blue?!”
To her annoyance, since we had just learned the answer to that in physics, I answered her, but she still didn’t answer my last “Why?” question that day.
Curiosity as a Superpower
My curiosity is one of my superpowers and serves me well in my work with clients. I find people fascinating. I enjoy science, so that led me to studying psychology and eventually to my meaningful work as a Career Energy Coach today.
For some sessions, clients find it helpful to assign themselves homework between our sessions. Acknowledging that the label of homework can remind clients of school, I used the term “homeplay” (but really, my intelligent clients still knew it was homework). Even though clients knew the homeplay (aka homework) was optional, we could still end up in a discussion that made them feel “wrong” for not completing the task we agreed to at the previous session. I therefore deeply appreciated when Robert had us consider posing between-session work with clients as experiments. This is not only a more supportive offering, but it is also aligned with a Positive Psychology lens, encouraging experimentation and allowing curiosity instead of consequences.
Choosing an Experimental Approach
If we choose the experimental approach, whatever the outcome, we gain more information in the form of data. If a client tries something and there is a tangible result, that is a data point. If a client does not undertake the experiment, that is a data point too. Now we have a wonderful opportunity to discuss, without the client’s self-judgement, how we might tweak or change the experiment based on whatever happened or did not happen between our sessions.
This aspect of the Positive Psychology lens involves being aware of how clients move toward or away from wellbeing. The focus is on what they are doing that is helpful and offering curiosity in support of them. At the same time, the coach partners with the client to discover clarity about how they can align their decisions and subsequent behaviour to achieve the lives and careers they desire.
“When we are open to new possibilities, we find them.”Todd Kashdan
I wonder what these words evoke for you. What would it be like to be open to the possibility that “life is an experiment”? It says to me that I don’t need to get everything right, and I am collecting data about myself. When my clients arrive at this observation, a common response is relief and gratitude. I invite clients to be intentional rather than rigid, to be curious and open to change as a growth opportunity. Ultimately, experiences are data points, rather than things to judge as good or bad. Your own experiment might not involve relocating (like Paul and I are trying); it could be something simple, personal, or meaningful in a different way. What have you tried, or what are you curious about testing in your life or work?
What might happen if you were to ask yourself questions, or take questions from others, then start to test and experiment in small (or big) ways to see if your hypotheses are true or not?
Life is an experiment. How might you test that out in your life and career?
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
I can’t wait to hear your answers and what’s resonating with you. Drop a comment below or click here to contact me.
Sharing is caring! If you this blog sparked an idea or you have a favourite nugget of knowledge that has come up for you, I invite you to share with me and others.
If you are curious about taking your life and career to the next level, and would like to meet to ask more about how you might partner to find support for your next experiement in your life and career, book a Brief Consult with me today!
