Bucket Lists and Comfort Zones

Let’s talk about comfort zones. Recently, I knocked three more adventures off my bucket list with the help of some amazing friends. Wooot! I went bungee jumping and white water rafting for the first time last summer and went sky diving this summer. It was nerve-wracking, intense, exhilarating and experiences I will never forget. These are just a couple of the things I’ve done in the past to push myself beyond my boundaries. You see, I have this one rule in life and that is to do what scares me.

It was a rule I adopted about a year after being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and dysthymia (mild, chronic depression). Times were pretty rough for a while and I became a shadow of myself. I went from being an overachieving, outgoing student athlete to a withdrawn victim of circumstance. Then one day, I decided things needed to change. I could let that diagnosis define me and determine the course of my life or I could fight for the life I wanted. I chose the latter. I had wasted enough time on the first option and it clearly wasn’t serving me, so I changed my story.

I started pushing myself to get involved again; get involved with people I missed, activities I loved and what I noticed was the more involved I got, the happier and more confident I became. All it took was that small first step, to change my mindset and it snowballed from there. This led to some amazing opportunities and great new friendships that I never would have had the chance to experience otherwise.

You see, different things scare different people. What may seem like a mountain to climb for some may just be another step along the path for others. The point is, you can let fear stop you from doing the things you’ve always wanted to do or you can push through that and see where the opportunity takes you.

What have you always wanted to do but haven’t? What’s stopping you?

Let me know in the comments.

Don’t forget to Like me on Facebook and Follow me on Instagram.