"Always do what you're afraid to do," this advice from one of my favorite books, "We Were Liars", is something that has stuck with me since reading it. Fear is such an interesting concept: while our fears can hold validity, often times they are walls we put up holding us back from greatness.
Mandela's wise words serve as an important reminder . . .
What is it about our human souls that so naturally resort to inferiority? Anything worth doing is not going to come easily. In Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's song "Ten Thousand Hours", they write "The greats weren't great because at birth they could paint, the greats were great because they paint a lot."
Trying new activities, traveling to an unfamiliar place, putting yourself out there can all be extremely intimidating and uncomfortable. This week I had the incredible opportunity to go skiing, I have spent very minimal time around snow and due to a knee injury was extremely nervous (in addition to my excitement) about trying this new sport. To make matters more intimidating, the Dew Tour happened to be at Breckinridge the very first day I ever skied: meaning the slopes were very crowded and happened to be featuring professional skiers and borders.
After a lot of nervousness and feeling intimidated, a few tumbles and one ride down the mountain on medic sled; I can truly say I have found something I greatly enjoy and am already planning my next trip to the slopes. So while it's frustrating at first to feel out of your comfort zone, I promise the benefit you will reap from it will certainly outlast the discomfort you feel. Wether things turn out the way you hoped or not, you will at the least learn something, which is a gift on its own.
I'll let you in on a little secret: don't be intimidated by anyone because no one on earth really has this whole 'life' thing figured out anyway. Inside of your comfort zone you don't need anything from anyone, but on the outside you will eventually be forced to reach out to someone for help. The thing about being out of your comfort zone is that human connection can only be gained through authenticity and vulnerability; and at the end of the day human connection is all that matters.
