Neophobia – “the fear of trying something new,” according to Psychology Today (2010) is a real thing. Maybe you have a built in fear of the unknown.  What if I try this food and I don’t like it?  What if I order something online and it comes damaged?  Will I be better off after I do this, or will it be the same old thing?  We do tend to question everything.

One benefit of doing it the same way is that the routine supports a measure of discipline.  A person who has set routines are the kind of people that can commit to lengthy projects (and finish them).  It also makes them reliable.  But what do you do if that routine fails you?  What can I do now, the last two orders were back-ordered, or they were delivered damaged?

Studies suggest we fear an unknown outcome more than we do a known bad one. This fact also explains an apparent paradox – we’re not afraid to try all new things.  Sometimes we may be eager as long as there’s no threat involved.  No threat of losing our jobs. No threats of a personal nature. Trying something new often can bring about something good.

Opening the possibilities of trying something new makes us potentially “unsafe” in our minds.  But if you stop to realize that the things we fear usually never come to pass.  What’s more, we are sometimes unable to anticipate the good things that do occur as a result of trying something new. 

One of the things that often tends to send up warning flags is giving a new supplier a chance to bid or ordering from a different company than what the company has in the past.  As we forge through our day-to-day business, ordering from known suppliers, it isn’t terribly risky.  But what if you’ve had a recent “bad” experience, either in the manufacturing or customer service from that supplier.  Are you willing to order elsewhere?

This is where perception and reality come together.  You know you have had issues in the recent past.  There’s a new supplier that you’d like to try, but they’re “new” to your company.  What if they don’t perform as well as they say they will?  Do you try them?  If all things are equal, and the new supplier’s costs are a couple of more dollars, will it be worth it to try them?

You might find yourself weighing the risks of the new supplier, to find the partner that returns you to the feeling of easiness, of comfort, of knowing that you’ve made a good decision.  The four points that we should know about trying something new are:

• Trying something new often requires courage.
• Trying something new opens up the possibility for you to enjoy something new.
• Trying something new keeps you from becoming bored.
• Trying something new forces you to grow.

The old adage of “If it’s not broke; don’t fix it” comes to mind in fighting the desire to try something new for whatever reason.  However, what if you don’t know if it’s broken?  You’ve just missed your opportunity to find something even better than what you currently have.  What if there’s a supplier out there that makes your life simpler because you no longer worry about whether or not your orders will arrive in good condition and on time?  What would that be worth to you?  If you never try, you won’t know if they exist.