I treated myself to a couple of lazy hours on the couch watching t.v. yesterday after doing my usual never-ending load of washing and came across Oprah. She was talking about women who become so caught up in the business of kids/husbands/work that they become a little "stuck". This really struck a chord with me because I feel as if I've been stuck for a while.
Oprah's friend Ally got together a group of stuck women and challenged them to step outside their box. This involved partaking in a roller derby, jumping out of a plane and skinny dipping on a deserted beach. The thought of jumping out of a plane absolutely terrifies me and listening to the sense of achievement these women felt (possibly because they couldn't believe they lived!) after flying through the air, actually got me crying. It got me thinking of things I could challenge myself to in order to step out of my little box. When my Dad died, I felt the need to challenge myself constantly because I thought it was now or never. I did a bridge climb with TD No. 1 which didn't really freak me out until they put the harness on; I competed in a 12km run which I found extremely empowering because I'd always hated running and to just run non-stop for 12k's made me feel like queen of the world; and I decided to go back to school where doing my first presentation as a mature-aged student got me out of my box because my fear of public speaking was probably the biggest reason for not returning to school sooner.
Now I feel I need to set myself a new challenge. But what? I've come to the realisation that any activity that involves possible death does not interest me in the slightest i.e. sky diving, bungy jumping and even the thought of hot air ballooning makes me break into a cold sweat. I suppose this makes me somewhat risk averse (and boring) - so be it. But that doesn't mean I can't set myself other challenges, does it?
I think from now on a challenge a year may be just what the Oprah ordered!
You don't sound boring at all; just look at all the challenges you've taken up in the last few years. Sometimes challenges are about endurance, such as school, and not about a brief (but terrifying) jump from an airplane. I'm curious to know what your next adventure will be!
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I think the brief but terrifying challenges are a quick fix that don't always last.
ReplyDeleteGood to know people such as yourself who can be as honest as possible wether if they are in a rut or not, and is willing to go out of the box and explore new things.
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