Laura Try is the inspiring host of Trying New Things for a Healthy and Cheerful Life on YouTube, which has had millions of views and counting. In her quest for new challenges, Laura has rowed 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, endured a -140C ice chamber and learned to solve the Rubik’s Cube in less than two minutes.
She recently added the Mensa Supervised IQ Test to her list and discovered, much to her surprise, that it was more fun than riding a unicycle. If you’re daunted by the idea of taking the test, don’t be! We speak to Laura about her own rather enjoyable experience.
What inspired you to add Mensa IQ Test to your challenge list?
When something catches my interest, I wonder what it feels like or how I would perform doing it myself. So, when I saw someone doing an IQ test, I thought “I wonder what that’s actually like?”
I tried the Mensa Online Workouts and really liked the feeling of using my brain in a different way. I got good results and that gave me confidence to book the test. I don’t really do puzzles and brain-training, but just recently I learned the Rubik’s Cube and I loved it. In fact, I’d say I got a mild addiction. And it got me interested in the idea of exploring things that I never thought I’d enjoy.
For example, I’m trying to learn the unicycle and was looking forward to it so much, and thought I’d be good at it. Then the opposite happened. I wasn’t good at it and I didn’t enjoy it. I tried a few more IQ-based things and, it turns out, I really do enjoy that!
How did it go on the day?
I didn’t do any preparation. I wanted to see where I was in my ‘natural state’, I suppose. And then, if I ever do the test again, it would be interesting to see if there’s any improvement, because my understanding is that we’re born with an innate IQ.
I went along to the Northampton test centre and it was kind of exciting. I wasn’t nervous because I was just there for a bit of fun. When I walked in, I could see other people there to take the test – men and women, old and young. The youngest person was 10 years 8 months and the oldest was 76. And we were all from different backgrounds.
I was greeted by Lee Robinson, who was going to run the test, and everything was just really friendly and so well organised. He didn’t waste any time and we got right into it.
What I loved about it was that, when we started, I was just so fully in it. I wasn’t thinking about the laundry or renewing the car insurance, nothing like that. I was using my brain in a completely different way than I do in day-to-day life.
By the end of the test, my brain actually ached, like I’d been to the gym and done 1,000 sit-ups. Even though it might not be classified as fun by a lot of people, you’re going somewhere different, meeting new people and using your brain in a different way. It’s a little bit like going to a theme park or a museum. When I got home, I just thought “that was a really cool day!”
How did you find the test itself?
It surprised me how little time we got to complete it all. I found myself sometimes not being able to complete the whole test. So when I came out I felt that maybe I wasn’t quite as good as I thought. There were two tests with 10 sections with a set amount of time for each – for example, one was about four minutes, another about eight minutes. I found that I pretty much always ran out of time. It was really pushing me to the limit, which is something that happens a lot in my challenges.
Where do you get your perseverance and will power?
I don’t really know. I’m an only child so I was able to spend a lot of time by myself doing things when I was younger. I also used to be a competitive dancer so that gave me a determination and confidence to try and get better.
I suppose as I get older, it’s more of a race against time and I just think there’s so much out there that I want to try. I’ve also got this romantic idea in my head that, when I’m older, I’ll have all these stories to tell. Maybe it’s curiosity or impatience, or perhaps a mixture of both.
Are you aware of how inspirational you are?
People tell me that there are certain things that they’ve wanted to try for a long time. By seeing some of my videos, it’s helped push them in the direction of giving it a go. That’s really good. Before I started doing the challenges, I would think that I really wanted to do something, but I never did. Then suddenly, it’s now my job and it’s great to be able to pass that message on, to say “just give it a try” and really great things can happen.
Find out more about Laura and her life-affirming challenges on YouTube.
