One of my big resolutions this year was to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I think when you are constantly challenging yourself; you are going to become a better person. By pushing yourself to do things that aren’t comfortable you get to see what you are made of. You get to see how strong you are. You get to see what you can take and often times it’s a lot more then you would think. You get to see first hand what is possible for you.
That is why I started this blog. I have always loved to write but a fear of not being good enough, has always kept my writing mostly to myself. The idea of having my heart and words criticized…I never thought I could bear it. But I also know that if I ever want to be published or go anywhere other then the inside of a personal journal, I have to put myself out there. So I took a deep breath and I jumped in.
My first push out of my comfort zone for the year was signing up for a Zumba fitness class in January. Group fitness classes, were just something I thought I would never be comfortable enough to do. There were so many thoughts that raced through my head.
Would I be good at it? Would I look like a fool trying to do the moves? What would people think? What if I can’t keep up? I always worked out at home and if I tried a video that I didn’t like or didn’t feel like I was good at or whatever, I would let it just sit and collect dust. No harm done, no embarrassment. Just move on. I knew a class would be different and I would feel forced to follow through.
The fear of failing at anything, has always been a big obstacle for me and this was the year I challenged it. With Zumba, not only did I find a workout that I absolutely love and can’t imagine life without, I found that I really enjoyed the fitness class atmosphere. So in May I signed up for Extreme Outdoor Bootcamp class and even signed up for the second session as well. I know that these classes are pushing me further then I was pushing myself. I know that these classes are keeping me motivated to keep working hard and keep pushing myself. I know that they are enhancing my life and making me happier. And to have people in the class to share that accomplishment with…it’s just nice to not be alone in it.
I continue to push myself in smaller ways too. Trying new recipes is one that I do the most often. I never cooked before I started on this journey, unless making boxed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese counts. So cooking in general was a big leap in the first place. Now I try recipes with ingredients I have never cooked with before or combinations I wouldn’t normally try. I’ll even make up my own food combinations with what I have around and just wing it.
In the beginning of my venture into being a cook, that is something I wouldn’t have ever done. I used to have to follow a recipe step by step meticulously. Being that I was new to cooking and not entirely sure what went well together or even how to wing it, not following the recipe was just not a risk I was willing to take. I was always afraid I would make something that tasted bad or I would mess it up or the world would end if I ‘failed’. But you know what? I found that most of the time, I did just fine. I never screwed up anything so badly that I had to eat something else entirely and the world never ended.
It’s really all a process. Once you do something that is out of your normal limits and you see a success or you see that you didn’t die because it wasn’t, that gives you more encouragement to do other things on your list. You have the power to turn something on your list from an ‘I wish’ to an ‘I did’. All that stands in your way is you.
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