I find great satisfaction whenever I step out of my comfort zone. Maybe not all the time, but most of the time. Well, to be honest, sometimes I feel terribly embarrassed and I still wanna punch myself in the face when I think about it but that’s okay, it’s what you called being alive. You laugh it off and move on.
You don’t need to fly to a new country to step out of your comfort zone. Trying out anything is a big step to step out of your comfort zone. Big or small, just try something that you are not familiar with.
A matter of point, yes, going abroad gives you the chance to immerse in a totally different culture and push yourself out of your comfort zone. You get to meet new people. You need to deal with new people – the taxi driver, the waitress, the bellboy, etc. You get to learn another language. You need to learn to speak their language to communicate efficiently. You get to see new culture. You need to be open-minded to accept different culture if you want to have an enjoyable time.
Other than that, there are so much more that you can do. Take a new route to your workplace. Order something which you’ve never tried in the restaurant that you usually go to. Try out the new restaurant in town. Try a different sport. Take new classes. Talk to those classmates that you’ve never spoken to before. Volunteer to participate in the events held at shopping malls.
I can’t say that I’m always pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I do it once in awhile. Here are some of the remarkable things I’ve done –
1. I did a solo performance in my high school’s small group dance show.
My dance teacher was asking our class if anybody wants to take part in a small group show. She said we needed to go through a small audition to be in part of the show. I hesitated for quite some time. I asked myself if I will regret for not joining the show, and the answer from the bottom of my heart was a yes. I decided to give it a try. I’ve never ever done a solo dance performance on my own before. I wasn’t confident in myself at all. Yet, I choreographed the whole dance in a month and showed it to my dance teacher. She gave me a high-five and said “yes you’re in. good job!” I was so excited. One week later, more than a hundred people showed up in the school theatre to watch the dance show. I was so nervous. My hands were shaking few moments before I went up on stage. However, the moment when I got off from stage, I was incredibly satisfied, not exactly by my performance but by the gut I got to do a solo dance performance. The stage was all mine for more than 90 seconds. Now, I can proudly tell my friends that I’ve done a dance show in Las Vegas. (well, not in those famous nightclubs or hotels but my school was in Vegas so technically I’m not wrong.)
2. I volunteered to join the interactive session in a circus.
I went to watch a circus. The clown was looking for a male and a female for a fun interactive game. He walked through the crowd to look for a young man to join him on stage. Nobody wanted to do it. Everyone was literally avoiding eye-contact with him. He then dragged a guy on stage. He walked through the crowd again to look for a lady to join the game. I had no idea what was on my mind, but I raised my hand so high. I was literally the only person that raised my hand. He spotted me and he invited me on stage. We were asked to imitate him and do some flirtatious moves. It was pretty funny. The crowd was cheering pretty loud. I was a little embarrassed to think about it but no, I didn’t regret it for any single moment. It was incredibly fun. Again, I felt so satisfied by my courage to raise my hand up and volunteer.
3. I held a giant lizard with my bare hands in a pet zoo.
I am no big fan of reptiles. I saw the worker holding the lizard in his hands and I simply wanted to challenge myself to hold it. I hesitated for 10 minutes and eventually I put up a brave front and asked the guy if I can hold it. And I did. I walked near to my dad with the lizard in my hands and my dad was afraid of it. Haha. I know this is no big deal for many other people out there but I don’t care I’m really proud of myself for doing it.
4. I WENT ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF THRILL RIDES. I WAS LITERALLY SHAKING AND TEARING UP WHEN I GOT OFF FROM THE RIDES. I EVEN HAD PANIC ATTACKS THINKING THAT I WAS GONNA DIE. I DIDN’T. I LIVED. AND I’M PROUD OF MYSELF.
(ain’t gonna do those rides for the second time tho they almost scare the shit out of me)
I could go on and on but I guess these examples are enough for this post.
I love the sense of accomplishment so much that it has become an addiction. I’ve gone through challenges and I find myself addicted to challenges. I stepped out of my comfort zone and I find myself constantly pushing myself to get out of my cave and face the beasts out there.
This addiction, however, hasn’t been satisfied in quite awhile. I’ve been staying in my comfort zone for a long time. It makes me angry. It’s like a drug – once you step out of your comfort zone and you feel great about it, you can’t stop. I need challenges to feel meaningful. And I’ve been feeling meaningless for months. I really don’t know why I am doing the things I’m doing right now. I just fail to see STPM as a challenge but a task in my to-do list for further study. I’m not implying that STPM is easy but I really need something more adventurous, more exciting, and more satisfying than that, which will broaden my horizons and allow me to look at the beautiful world with new eyes.
It’s 1.00am in 2017, and I’m thinking about what I’ll be doing at this time 5 years later.
The Dancing Wildfire 