A big rule in exploration: don’t settle on a “favorite” too soon! (A favorite route. A favorite menu item. A favorite way of doing things. A favorite cheese!) Favorites provide the comfort of familiarity, but run the risk of becoming routine and squelching the exploration of new things. I have “favorite streets” that I do my shopping on, but when I walk a different route, I discover places and sights I didn’t know about. They might become new favorites, but I would have missed them if I had stuck with the familiar.
It’s a curious thing to observe how easy it is to slip into a routine. When is it really a “favorite”, and when is it simply a comfortable “known”? Granted, sometimes one WANTS the comfort of the known in the middle of so much unknown! I try to catch myself and then nudge into a different direction or choice. After all, if I always pick “my favorite cheese”, think of all the cheeses I’ll miss!