I am an ambivert.
That means I have the qualities of both an introvert and an extrovert. As a child, I was definitely an extrovert, and now I lean more toward being an introvert. Basically, I love being home alone all day, but I will probably show up early for your party.
Although there is a part of me that is extroverted, I am far from a brave person. The introverted part of me likes to stay in my comfort zone. It’s a pretty small zone. This zone has no surprises or spontaneity and no chance of me making a fool of myself while in it. I don’t have to stretch my brain, and movies and popcorn abound. Hanging out here was easy for the 25-plus years I was a stay-at-home mom and homeschooling. I was busy with my boys.
When I became an empty nester, my comfort zone closed in on me.
I was in a very uncomfortable zone, and I was forced to do some re-evaluating. I was going to have to start trying some new things, and figure out what I was going to do for the second half of my life.
My lack of bravery led me to a sweet little devotional by Annie F. Downs. It’s called 100 Days to Brave. I had it read in less than 10.
This little devotional is full of little and easy ideas for how to start being brave. Not every day had something that applied directly, but I swear she wrote this book for me.
Recently, I have had some positive successes with stepping out and getting uncomfortable. Going back to school and starting this writing journey are two examples. It has also pushed me to be brave and get serious about some major forgiveness issues I have. I don’t want to move too fast, but I have decided to work on this bravery thing. Therefore, once a month, I am either going to try something new or do something that makes me cringe.
I started this in May. My sister had me go to an amp cycle class with her. I knew this wouldn’t be a giant step out of the zone, but it was most certainly trying something new. (The real comfort loss for me was wearing leggings). I looked like a dork who didn’t know what she was doing, but it was super fun. Hopefully, if I didn’t embarrass my sister too much, she will let me use another guest pass for a different class.
I have accumulated quite a list of ideas for each month. I am not sharing them ahead of time, because I want to reserve the right to change my mind. I will share how I am doing once a month and who knows? Maybe I will even be brave enough to post pictures. I would love to know what ways you have stepped out of your comfort zone.
Wish me luck!
