I never follow this advice. I do things that scare me even less often than I floss (which is another piece of advice from the song). I suffer from a chronic case of playing it safe, but the last 2 weeks I've been doing pretty good with the scary stuff. Read on...
1. I went to a meeting of the Young Republicans - which doesn't sound that scary, but I'm so very much a Democrat I was positively sure they would sniff me out as the imposter and eat me alive. (They didn't - they were actually very nice and I don't think anyone even noticed my frequent grimaces of disagreement.)
2. I booked my flight to Uganda. The excitement that comes with a new big and unfamiliar trip is always accompanied by some fear. I think that's a lot of what makes it exciting. Uganda is a country that has been ravaged by a terrible civil war and copes with extreme poverty on a daily basis. I don't think I'm being unreasonable when I say I'm a little scared of going (and crazy excited!).
3. I shook my booty in a crowded bar in very little clothing while I dance battled it out for Samba Queen. Yeah... you'd think dancing in front of a crowd would be old news for me by now... but it's amazing how much your courage is boosted when you are on stage and can't actually see the audience until the bow... and by then they already love you - haha. I'm used to being much further from my audience, surrounded by at least a couple other dancers, and in much more clothing. Oh yeah... and did I mention the 4 inch heels? Yet another obstacle. Man, I was only a little terrified going into that thing... but had such a blast I'm already trying to plan what costume I could make for next year!
4. I hiked to Delicate Arch. Ok... laugh away. The last time I went on that hike I was about 7 years old and completely one hundred per cent freaked by that steep drop on the last leg of the hike... I'm terrified of heights. This is something I've been trying to get over (I walked across the rainforest canopy rope bridge in Ghana, walked out onto the skydeck of Sears Tower and looked about a hundred floors straight down... I'm making progress.) So... some 16 years later I not only made it through the hike, I sat on the steep ledge. Progress.
Most of these things I actually really enjoy once I get the courage to do them. So from now on, I'll be trying my best to do one thing each day that scares me!
Hey kudos to you for going out and facing your fears (even if it's not in the quantity you desire)! It's taken me a long time but I'm finally starting to realize that real personal growth only comes from those moments when we're uncomfortable. Whether it's because we're dealing with some emotional trauma, or because we're finally doing something that forces us to step outside of our comfort zone. All things change, and all things pass. We forget that when we're in the midst of these "scary" things but if we can just remember to keep going forward and that once we get to the other side we finally see what an opportunity for growth it really was and are thankful for the new perspective granted us. I dunno, just seems like the way to go if you really intend to live life to it's fullest. You gotta throw yourself out there again and again. So again, kudos to you for having that as a goal! AND START FLOSSING!
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