Hello, friends!
In my jewelry newsletter this week, I had a quote:
"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." - Neale Donald Walsch
Limiting yourself to only activities that are comfortable means that you will keep yourself stuck repeating familiar patterns, never straying into new challenges and opportunities. I know this all too well. For many years, I had avoided taking the steps I wanted to take with my jewelry business because I was afraid of venturing into unfamiliar areas. Now I know I can actually enjoy the rush that comes from doing something I am fearful of. Pushing myself past my comfort zone while skating has made it easier for me to push myself past my comfort zone in all areas of my life.
Skating beyond my comfort zone has a very immediate payoff--an adrenaline rush that becomes addicting, causing me to continually push myself to try new techniques and paths. I seek out new challenges because it is so exciting.
In the process of
skating, I have found that I like that scary, slightly-out-of-control feeling. I feel alive, excited, slightly invincible. Recently, for the first time, I skated down the steep downhill of the Lafayette-Moraga trail near St. Mary's College without braking once. It was a rush, let me tell you! If I add my battle cry "Yee-haa!" then I feel like I can do just about anything. Skating beyond my comfort zone is addicting. The fact that I have such a sublime view at the same time is a bonus!
Another way I push myself is with my new Rollerblades that I call my "Badass" skates. These are more of a high-performance skate and force me to use my muscles and balance in a new way. They provide plenty of challenge for me even on a flat trail, but at some point I'll hit the hills with them. Here they are:Why am I writing about pushing past my comfort zone while skating? Because that same adrenaline boost I get from pushing into new territory when I skate, I can get anytime I try something I had originally been fearful of. This is a huge, huge step for me.
Before I started my online jewelry shop, I had so many areas that seemed unfamiliar and scary--learning the Etsy site, writing a newsletter, photographing my jewelry pieces, and on and on. I used to feel fear when confronted with the unfamiliar. But now I have taken that butterflies-in-the-stomach, unsure-of-myself, doubting-my-capabilities feeling and reframed it:
That feeling is exciting! Learning how to do something new is a rush! There is so much to learn and I view every challenge now as something new I get to do, something new I get to learn. I embrace the feeling, because it brings a similar adrenaline rush as skating does. I am grateful for the opportunity.
Here's what I've discovered:
If I'm willing to let myself be okay with that uncomfortable feeling of trying something unfamiliar, the distance between conceiving of an idea and acting on that idea becomes much, much shorter.
Keep skating!
No comments:
Post a Comment