As my 47th Birthday looms ahead, I feel a strange need to start pushing limits. Being brave. I want to take things up a notch in my daily existence. Sure, I’ve set some sturdy goals for 2017, broken them down into bite size pieces, and found ways to hold myself accountable for those. Thus far, I'm happy with my progress on them and feel like it’s going to be a hell of a year.
But that’s not enough in my ever graying state. I feel restless for more experiences.
So I’ve begun actively seeking ways to leave my comfort zone. Try new things, and I don’t just mean a new recipe. I am talking about experiences. For example, I make a mean chili. Friends and family have been to go so far as changing plans to come for dinner if they find out I am making chili. This month I volunteered to cook the chili for the annual Chamber of Commerce chili cook off for my day job.
This is a stretch for me. I am not domestic in any way shape or form. I am generally not a great cook, except a handful of dishes like my chili, which excel. I am going up against restaurants and even a culinary school. Will I win? Who knows, I do make a fine pot of chili. But the important thing is I am doing something so far out of the norm that it is challenging and worrisome, and exciting, and frightening, and amazing all at once. That is the kind of year I want to have. And, if I am lucky, it will snowball into an abundance of years filed with those words.
I challenge you to think of something you can do completely out of your comfort zone that is both exciting and frightening at the same time, then tell me about it in the comments below as a promise to yourself to try and make it happen. It doesn't have to cost money. It doesn't even have to be a big deal to anyone but you. But tell us about it soe we can share in each other's bravery. Your life is what you make of it, starting right now. Every minute is a chance to grow.
But that’s not enough in my ever graying state. I feel restless for more experiences.
So I’ve begun actively seeking ways to leave my comfort zone. Try new things, and I don’t just mean a new recipe. I am talking about experiences. For example, I make a mean chili. Friends and family have been to go so far as changing plans to come for dinner if they find out I am making chili. This month I volunteered to cook the chili for the annual Chamber of Commerce chili cook off for my day job.
This is a stretch for me. I am not domestic in any way shape or form. I am generally not a great cook, except a handful of dishes like my chili, which excel. I am going up against restaurants and even a culinary school. Will I win? Who knows, I do make a fine pot of chili. But the important thing is I am doing something so far out of the norm that it is challenging and worrisome, and exciting, and frightening, and amazing all at once. That is the kind of year I want to have. And, if I am lucky, it will snowball into an abundance of years filed with those words.
I challenge you to think of something you can do completely out of your comfort zone that is both exciting and frightening at the same time, then tell me about it in the comments below as a promise to yourself to try and make it happen. It doesn't have to cost money. It doesn't even have to be a big deal to anyone but you. But tell us about it soe we can share in each other's bravery. Your life is what you make of it, starting right now. Every minute is a chance to grow.
P.S. I won both trophies, yesterday, which made me nearly cry in front of hundreds of strangers. Take a chance, who knows what will happen!
