#2. This just isn't me.
Duh! Well of course it isn't you. That is why you will have to step out of the comfort zone you
have created. Yes, there is an awkwardness attached to trying something new. Moving past the awkwardness will require getting in touch with your inner purpose. Your inner purpose is the answer to the following questions:
1. Why should I experience this new behavior?
2. What will be the benefit?
Recently I experienced a Passover meal for the first time and it was amazing. There was a portion of the meal when adults hid bread from the young children. The prize for each child that found one of the many napkins with bread was one dollar. While all the older kids easily found the bread. The younger kids, which included my 6 year old daughter, had a hard time finding the bread. I was not seated in a location that allowed me to easily change locations. Therefore the logical person in me thought, just let her look she'll find it. The logical woman in me thought, do not crawl under this table to go help your daughter because she'll be ok. But the mom in me immediately crawled under the table to help my daughter find the bread. Oh how crazy I must have looked. That's a simple example of inner purpose causing me to move out of my comfort zone. I know I looked crazy and ridiculous but at the moment I did not care because my inner purpose, the well being of my daughter, trumped all awkwardness.
If you'll be brave to try a new behavior you'll learn to embrace and even experience the benefits of the awkwardness.
- The uncomfortable awkwardness will force you to practice, practice, practice...
It is true that practice makes perfect. Practice is the key to everything. You have to be willing to keep trying and to open yourself up to the unknown. You have to be willing to fail — at dancing, at making friends, at finding your own style, at writing, at singing, at speaking in front of crowds, at sports, at everything — in order to get better and lose the awkwardness.
2. It's an opportunity to make your own template.
A template is something that serves as a model for others to copy like a cookie cutter. It reminds me of cookie baking with my daughter. We usually start with rolled out dough and a cookie cutter with great intentions to have uniformity. We undoubtedly end up putting the cookie cutters to the side. Choosing instead to make our own cookie shapes. It's always a bit more messy but always more fun. So it is with the awkwardness of stepping out of your comfort zone. It can be a bit messy but always more rewarding than if you tried to conform to someone else's template.
3. You will develop empathy.
Being vulnerable will help you develop empathy for others. While it’s easy to throw a fit when something terrible happens to us, it is a lot harder to demonstrate compassion for the struggles of another person. We all have been guilty of getting so caught up in our own lives that we forget the world doesn’t revolve around our needs; before behaving like an upset infant, remember that many people face hardships that you couldn’t begin to imagine.
Yes, you will face the awkwardness and the vulnerability of the unknown BUT be brave. You'll be glad you did. What will you do today to step out of your comfort zone?
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