wisdom. I am taking a little time off from looking for new ways to step out of my comfort zone. I am looking for
more ways to dip my toe back in to my beautiful and neglected comfort zone and slip in to its warm and beautiful waters. Am I going to become boring? Not likely.
logical step to create a further challenge for myself. I took an active fighting class that consisted mostly of men and held my own. I got hurt from time to time but kept at it. Once I felt that I had a pretty good handle on kickboxing, I took a five hour Krav Maga martial arts fighting test that several super-fit men less than half my age couldn’t get
through. I broke my thumb in the first five minutes. I forged through the entire active fighting test and walked out with my belt and my certificate. It was one of the proudest moments of my life. Less exciting was heading straight to the emergency room and enduring performing a job that completely relies on my hands without the use of a thumb. The cycle of wanting a ridiculous challenge, making it happen against all reasonable odds, and getting injured continued through a number different extreme sports. I value the time that I spent at these pursuits and the friends that I made along the way. At the same time; I really like sports and I really didn’t like getting injured all the time.
I have always been fairly social and have made friends easily. But I found myself tolerating groups of people that I felt completely uncomfortable with +/or disregarded by just to take myself “out of my element.” Why? Most of the people in the world are “my element.” So why did I go through a phase of believing that I would somehow expand my
horizons by trying to fit in with a couple of small groups of people personally and professionally that I found both
unpleasant, uncomfortable, and in some extreme cases, awful? I will always love meeting new people from all over the world and from all types of cultures and mindsets. The simple criterion for my comfort zone is that people will be friendly and accepting of me as well. I am a friendly and polite person. In most circles that is enough. This works in the grittiest biker bar, and it works with Fortune 500 presidents, and even with groups of children that I meet through business or family. I don’t need to be involved in any “circles” where this is not enough.
closer to what you want rather than storming off to do something else. Getting a paycheck from a job you mostly like but aren’t jumping for joy about every second of every day does not mean you are a sell-out. This doesn’t mean being too lazy or timid to keep making adjustments. It just means that you don’t write something off without first trying to fix or improve your situation, thus making it more COMFORTABLE.
I’m just suggesting that we (I!)might have gone a little too far with this concept and have begun to discount the value of trying new things that might fit instead of uncomfortable. I also think that finding a thrill or a new twist on something already in your life is a great way to keep things interesting and fun.
studio, and the other students. I also feel like my good sense of rhythm and strong cardio endurance will serve me
well here. I am completely comfortable. And I love the feeling. I look forward to going to class. I smile just thinking about it.