Tabitha Brown’s new book, I Did a New Thing: 30 Days to Living Free, shares how the vegan expert and performer transformed her life by doing one new activity a day. It can also be a guide to making changes in yours.
“I started doing these challenges to open myself up, figure out new things I enjoy and learn about myself,” Brown tells EBONY. She did her first round in 2014 and again in 2017 when she took on a 30-day veganism challenge to combat a chronic illness. That experience saved her life.
In her new book, Brown has embarked on another 30-day adventure, outlining each experience to encourage others to follow in her footsteps. “It’s my freedom walk [to discover if] I am living a truly free life, and how can I open other people’s minds to try something new,” she shares. “We get into a routine and sometimes forget that we haven’t done anything different in a long time. The only way we can find out if we love something or don’t is by trying something new.”
Here, Brown shares more about her transformative experience.
EBONY: What did you do over your 30-day journey for this book that affected you the most?
Tabitha Brown: One thing that sticks out is that I took my dog on a hike for the first time. I used to go hiking all the time with my brother. We’d be out there laughing and talking, and it would take us about an hour and a half. Since I was doing a new thing every day, I decided to take my dog, Blackie. He had never been on a hike before and was so excited. He pulled me, so my brother and I had to walk faster, and we were done in about 45 minutes. What I realized was that I could have always done more. But I wasn’t pushing myself. That taught me that we can always do more, even in the things that we do every day.
Did you do anything that scared you?
I had my first mammogram. My first was supposed to be doing COVID, but it got canceled, and I hadn’t rescheduled it. I was like, “Lord, let me go ahead and get this mammogram,” and when I got it, they found a mass. I was taken aback. You don’t want to do another one, but I had to go in for an ultrasound and do a biopsy. The old Tabitha would have been completely freaking out, researching everything online and driving myself crazy thinking the worst. But in the moment, I had to check myself and say, “Wait a minute. They haven’t said anything yet. They just said it’s something they need to take a closer look at. Don’t allow yourself to go back into that place where you decide something is wrong,” because I felt so good about the healing work that I’ve been doing. I was able to check myself, and then, thank God, they found out it was nothing. God gave me that challenge so he could show me I’m not just out here talking and fluffing. I’m doing the work on myself.
You wanted to take a new challenge every day to see where God leads you. How important is spirituality and stepping out on faith when you try something new?
Oh, girl, it’s always important. I’m very spiritual. I live my life like that. Trying something new, I think spiritually, you have to connect with yourself. You have to break out of your normal habits and routines in order to say you’re gonna try something new. It’s always a matter of trusting yourself, your spirit and God to to take you on a new journey, even if it’s something simple, like trying a new hairstyle. That’s also how we recognize, “Wait, this doesn’t feel right to me. I’m glad I tried it. But I don’t need to do that again.”
Other people’s stories are featured in the book as well.
We brought in some phenomenal people to challenge themselves to do one new thing, everyday things like mothers going to the park with their kids. I wanted readers to see that other people were doing this so they feel encouraged to try something new; at the park or store or whatever the case is.
Did you feel another life transformation just from doing the book?
Absolutely! I did a new thing, right? I wrote a new book and completed it. But I also did it. It was a journaling process for me in real time. I was doing voice recordings every day. When I did something, I instantly recorded how I felt. Because when you do something new, if you wait a while, you don’t get that instant reaction; it subsides. I wanted to capture the moment. That shifted something in me and changed how I see different scenarios. You try something and then see how it makes you feel. Did you love it or discover something new about yourself in the process? That’s exactly what this challenge is about, and it’s such an accomplishment.
Brown’s book, I Did a New Thing: 30 Days to Living Free, is available at Amazon.
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