Innovate

We get so used to our routine, our people and our things and forget that excitement and fear are basically the same feelings. We can’t continue to grow and learn if we never do anything that scares us. Now doing something scary like squishing a spider once is a thrill but having to break our routine and incorporate that scary thing into our lives every day is a whole other ball game. By doing something that scares us everyday we are changing part of what makes us who we are.

I have become quite comfortable in my little mountain town surrounded by familiar faces and a routine that has become so easy. This week I am pushing myself to break down some of the boundaries I have created, and open myself up to new people and new opportunities that I may have had reservations about in the past. It has been hard for me to open up to new people and places in the past because I am scared of the unknown. For example, it’s silly to think that I only go to certain stores or tend to associate with the same crowd of people.

All that I had to do differently was go to a different grocery store, say hello to someone I would normally avoid and agree to attend an event where I didn’t know who was going – but it was still scary! I decided to step out of my routine.  These scary new things were not unpleasant at all. Nothing bad happened when I went to a different grocery store. When I said hello to the girl who I would normally avoid and she gave me bit of a snarl, I felt empowered because I didn’t let her negativity effect me this time. The event that I said yes to was a blast and I ended up making a few new connections.

By doing these new things I shifted my “norm” and allowed positive change to happen in my life.

Little did I know that by doing one small thing that scared me I would see such a big change in my day to day life. I didn’t need my routine to be happy. In fact I think I needed to change my routine to let in more happiness. I turned the things that scared me into things that were exciting.

Now if only I could conquer my fear of the dark…