We all get comfortable in our own little worlds. We have a certain way of starting our days, certain restaurants we go to most often, heck, even a certain way we do laundry.
I’m not generally a “scheduled” person, but I’m finding more and more that I follow the same routine day in and day out. I’ve found that I live within a comfort zone that doesn’t offer much risk, but also doesn’t offer much excitement.
I wasn’t always like this. Before kids, I was much more willing to try something new. I ate haggis in Scotland. I traveled to the Azores armed only with my not very good Spanish and an English-Portuguese dictionary. I went spelunking in Australia.
I’ve decided to try to find that side of me again. Finances and school schedules and responsibility for children don’t allow me to be as carefree as I once was, but I’m taking the opportunities that come my way. Some recent examples:
- I’ve been doing some marketing work for my job. Trying to create ads is so far outside my work comfort zone that I’m pretty sure it’s not in the same hemisphere. But I’m doing my best to embrace the challenge.
- I took another yoga class at Mind the Mat today. I’m nowhere near good at it LOL, but I try every move to the best of my ability.
- Yesterday I relied on my general knowledge of the area I live in to get from one place to another without a map or GPS. Sure, I ended up going to Costco by way of National Airport, but I did it and I didn’t panic. (Anyone who knows the roads around here and my fear of driving in DC will understand what a HUGE step that was for me.)
- I bought a living social deal to a Core Barre class. I may suck, but I’m going to do it anyways.
There are things I’m “scared” to do. Run a relay race. Make my own beer. Drive with the boys cross country by myself. And I’m sure there are more. I may not hit them all this year, but I will continue to step outside my comfort zone on a regular basis, because every time I do, I reconnect with the brave girl I once was.
Do you actively try to step out of your comfort zone? Do you try new things on a regular basis?
I really enjoy being uncomfortable, as odd as that sounds. I thrive on stepping out of my comfort zone, but I'm not yet married and I don't have kids. Wonder if that will change when I do?
this is such a great reminder. i couldn't agree with you more about the importance of "going there" whether it is physically, emotionally, something with our career and following our dreams … it is never ever easy but always worth it. we heal. we grow. we get to know true selves so much better. it is easy to get stuck in our ways and become complacent. i don't want that to happen to me. i think going outside our comfort zone keeps our hearts and minds open to so many wonderful things. i love this post!oh – and spelunking in australia? so amazing.
I tend to get into my routines as well… getting into the tri world was a big one for me, and there are new ways to pull me outside of my comfort zone in this sport daily!Good for you pushing your own limits a little. I'm sure you'll learn a lot and even have some fun in the process.
I love this! What a great goal:) It is definitely harder to be adventurous after you have kids, but it is doable. I am not one for going out of my comfort zone, but I did do the polar bear portion of my resolution run and that was way out of my comfort zone. It started my new year off with a bang!
Definitely not on a regular basis, but I will when I'm reminded or encouraged to! I'm doing Kim's cross training challenge to try some new classes, and really pushed myself when we moved here to meet lots of new people. It's hard to take the step, but I've found pushing myself out of my comfort zone to be extremely rewarding!
ugh, relay, I don't ever want to do one. I need pillows and sleep! :)and, good for you. next time you get lost by the airport come see me! that costco is the 20th level of hell, though. PARKING OMG.
"try new things?" I don't even know what that means.ya, I'm a new things failure.Let's run a relay together. I freaking hate them. Haven't done one since I was 16. 😉
I decided to do that one year – just totally do things I'd always refused to do. They all ended up being running things and they all involved relays. The first was a dusk till dawn relay where I had to run for 2 hours at 2am in the morning around a 500m track. The second was a three day, 500k relay in ridiculous heat. And the third was a two man 25k relay (50k total) at the beach. All three were fantastically fun and I was proud of doing stuff out of my comfort zone.
I've always shied away from doing things that I didn't feel comfortable with but a year ago I realized that living a "safe" and "normal" life was really boring. I wanted adventure and excitement.So I stopped letting fear and embarrassment stop me from trying new things and my life is so much more fulfilling and interesting. In fact, one of my goals for 2012 is to try something new every month. This month I am going to a trampoline place and next month I'm going rock climbing! Woohoo!
I am very impressed with your driving around DC. I could not do that. Driving there is outside the universe for me so again I am mega impressed.Relays are a ton of fun. Are you worried about other people thinking you are slow? I have always been on "fun" teams not competitive. Truly a blast.I am doing the tri which is out of my comfort zone but need to find more. You are impressing me.
I love trying anything new. Yeah, you might feel uncomfortable, but often in the end, it's worth it.Even just something as simple as trying something new on a menu at a restaurant, I think it helps expand the horizons.
I love my comfort zone. I did however step way out when I did my first marathon in 2010. I have never looked back on that decision. So happy that I did step out of my comfort zone
Thank you for the gentle reminder to get out and do something unexpected or adventurous. We were just talking about a cave trip this afternoon!