Out of my comfort zone

For what I am about to share to make sense, I need to give you a bit of background information. I am what my friends call an 'activity slut'. Its kind of a harsh term but completely factual. I am the kind of person who participates in literally everything that I come across, be it charity organisations, school related projects, societies, etc. If I feel like I could contribute something to any project I do it, without any hesitation. I love working with people and trying to make the lives of people around me better and being involved in all these projects gives me the opportunity to do just that. I also do it for selfish reasons, I want to leave a legacy that will live on for decades after I have left this earth. I want to be remembered by each and everyone I come in contact with. What? I am only human! But one thing I never do is get involved in anything where I am uncertain about its success.

All my moves are calculated, I only take part in things  I know for sure I will be successful in. I am like everyone else out there, I don't want to be disappointed when things don't go as planned so I make sure I never put myself in that situation. I don't take any risks, that's just me. And I am pretty sure you can all agree with me that this is no way to live. Neil Gaiman said:

“If you dare nothing,

then when the day is over,

nothing is all you will have gained.”

Now back to the original story. I recently took part in an activity in which I was uncertain whether I would live to tell its success story. I finally left my comfort zone. Now  I won't deceive you by telling what an 'amazing journey' its been. Truth is it's not easy, I have thought about quitting so many times and I probably will continue carrying that thought in the back of my mind. I keep kicking myself for even attempting to do this but I am proud of the fact that I have stuck it out. Despite how bleak things may look, I am still moving forward and still believe in myself. Now that's an invaluable lesson. I am learning so much about myself and about my limits and just how far I can go if I don't give up. And even though I might not end up being successful in this venture at least I know that I finally took a risk. I finally pushed myself beyond my limits. At the end of all this I will emerge stronger, more confident and ready to take on other projects.

So now I am employing each and every one of you to do that interview for the job that you don't think you will ever get, choose that challenging research topic you think you would never be able to do. Basically what I am saying is challenge yourself, push yourself beyond your limits. Do that one thing that you have always been so afraid to do because you didn't want to fail at it. I promise you, you will learn so much about yourself and your abilities. I will now leave you with the wise words of  Tamera Alexander:

“But he'd learned long ago that a life lived without risks pretty much wasn't worth living. Life rewarded courage, even when that first step was taken neck-deep in fear.”