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Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Stepping out of my comfort zone.

Lately, I've felt comfortable in my routine. Going to work, skipping the gym, eating a mediocre dinner or ordering take-out, then getting to bed way too late, being too tired in the morning, lather, rinse, repeat.

Caleb has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone a little bit this week. He had the idea on Sunday night that we would go to the gym together the next day (we haven't done this in forever) and hit the swimming pool to swim laps as our workout. "WHAT?! I have no idea what I'm doing"..."no way"..."people will judge me"..."I'll look like a complete idiot"... yadda yadda yadda. 

We walked into the gym and I could feel my heart racing. I told him I'd need a lot of metaphorical hand holding to make this work. Isn't that silly? I have SUCH anxiety over the smallest of things sometimes. I just couldn't believe how nervous I was over practically nothing!

Well, he talked me into it, and I put on my suit, strapped on the goggles, and swam those dang laps. Sure, the entire thing was exhausting and slightly embarrassing since I had no idea what I was doing... but I did it, and that's what matters. I felt pretty awesome afterwards!

Fast forward to last night. I joined a group in Cincinnati that stems from The Rising Tide Society, called "Tuesday's Together" (its basically a group for creatives - business owners, designers, photographers, planners, calligraphers, florists, etc. - who get together to learn new things, encourage one another, and just hang out). I pull into the lot where last nights meeting was, and could literally feel my heart beating through my chest. I decided to check my heart rate on my fitbit, and I couldn't believe it. It was at 94. I was just sitting down! Trying to work up the courage to walk into this meeting full of people I didn't know, and my heart felt like it was about to beat through my chest.

I said a little prayer because anxiety is real for me, and thought to myself, what's the worst that can happen, Kayla!? It won't kill you. So I got out of my car, and walked into the meeting. Almost immediately, my anxiety and stress went away and I had fun getting to know everyone!

There were only about 13 of us total, but it was SO encouraging to be in a room full of people who have similar questions/concerns as you regarding running a business, etc.! I left feeling refreshed, encouraged, and most of all, inspired

So it goes to show, stepping out of your comfort zone is not only good for you, it really makes you grow. I'm proud of myself this week, and that feels so great! I'm challenging you to try something new in the next few days. Something that scares you a little!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

13 comments:

  1. When I read your post about this last night, I was SO proud of you. And still am as I read this this morning :) I love the saying, "You can do hard things." <---but also sometimes it's not even a "hard" thing that causes the anxiety, so I'm proud of you for doing ALL the things ;)

    p.s.--this is my favorite Bible verse I whisper on repeat when social anxiety gets me cray: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9

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  2. That is awesome! And so glad to hear it went well! As I get older, I am able to do this a bit more..but it sure is tough!

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  3. Good for you girl! Doing things alone makes me feel the same way. But as soon as I'm doing it I feel much better and I wonder why I was ever worried in the first place.

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  4. Coming from an experienced swimmer, swimming is the sport where you can be a fool, flap around & it's ok! I wish our gym had a pool. Congrats on getting out of that zone.

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  5. I'm so glad you did that! Way to step outside your comfort zone. Awesome!

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  6. I'm so proud of you! For all of it! I was a competitive swimmer in high school, but it took me THREE YEARS to work up the nerve to use the lap pool in college. RIDICULOUS. What is it about pools that's so nerve-wracking?

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  7. That's so awesome! Congrats on stepping out of your comfort zone!

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  8. Yay for swimming laps, and congrats on going outside of your comfort zone and having success at the meeting. I always get super nervous too going into situations like that, and come out thankful I did it :-D
    Green Fashionista

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  9. You should be proud of yourself! Confronting anxious situations can be very tough!

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  10. The funny thing is that I always tell the teenagers (my husband and I are youth director's...) to get out of their comfort zone. I always tell them they need to TALK to people they don't know and stop just sitting there on their phones. then when it comes to me, I'm like "errrr, can I just sit here on my phone." LOL. I hear you on some of this stuff. But good job getting out of your comfort zone!!

    - Whitney
    www.drinkcofeeandblog.wordpress.com

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  11. you go girl! this is awesome. the same thing happened with KC and I, though I only swam like 3 or 4 times because i couldn't get over how embarrassed and awkward i was lol. i can swim in an ocean, but laps in a pool make me feel like a fool. every time i want to chicken out and not go somewhere or meet new people, i'm almost always glad i did it afterwards. almost ;) haha. but you go girl!

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