Comfort Zone Challenge: Sunset Beach Walk

Wait! How is a walk on the beach at sunset a push outside of the comfort zone? It sounds like an activity most people dream to do! For me it meant going out of my way and away from the comfortability of my routine, a routine that now consists of hiding in the protection of my home.

If you know me and read that last sentence, it probably shocked you. The strong, confident and outgoing professional needing to hide in the comfort of her home. Yep! That is who I have become over the better part of the year.

Why I started hiding in my comfort zone

Earlier this year I was the victim of a cancel culture. Putting my name (or pronoun in this case) in the same sentence as victim is so foreign to me! I’ve never been a victim of anything. I’ve been through a lot but never considered myself a victim. That language in my mind is WEAKNESS. I am strong. I am confident. I overcome obstacles.

And here I am, now the victim, feeling weak and rejected. This thought and these emotions are outside of my realm of comprehension. I don’t like how it sounds. I definitely do not like how it feels.

Sunset Beach Walk

I started the day thinking about what I would do to push myself outside my comfort zone. The idea of a sunset beach walk came to mind. I looked for other ideas but couldn’t come up with any. The idea of intentionally and voluntarily driving away from my home towards the end of the day to take a walk was making me very uncomfortable. It was this feeling that made me commit to the activity.

Before heading out to the beach, I had an appointment to catch up with an old acquaintance who I hadn’t talked to in a few years. She wanted to meet with me to “check on me” and share something she had heard. The rumor she shared reignited all the fury from a few months prior when a viscous, fear-based, group of colleagues decided to “cancel” me. I hadn’t been able to run away from the pain. It was still there. Hiding wasn’t keeping it away.

“Criticism is something we can avoid easily saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing” – Aristotle

Clarity from the walk

As I took off on my walk, I wasn’t sure what clarity I would find. The information I had just received was fueling a fire in me and I was afraid it was fogging the moment.

As I walked I noticed a few things – the beauty, the smell of the air, people playing and having fun. Most importantly, I noticed the peace, joy and happiness that exist in such a beautiful place.

I also noticed my walk. I was walking strong and determined. It wasn’t a leisurely stroll. I noticed my chest was pulled back in a manner of confidence that I’d been lacking. I realized the beauty at my fingertips that I’ve been avoiding. I recognized all of the adventure and joy within arms reach that I had not taken advantage of.

The majority of the year I’ve been “in hiding”, not wanting to be seen or socialize like I had previously done. I have been depressed. I allowed the critics to knock me way down. Yet this walk sparked something in me. My strength felt renewed.

Working the confidence muscle

I know this one walk will not bring back 100% of what I lost. It is a start. Just like going to the gym, our thoughts and emotions also need to be exercised regularly. The more you workout a muscle, the stronger it becomes. The more you work an emotion, the stronger it becomes.

It is a journey. I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Theodore Roosevelt – “The man in the arena”

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where thee does of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat

Thank you for being on this journey with me. Please share how you are pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. If you are not up for the challenge yet, it is okay. I would love to know how these words impact you.

With love and gratitude,

Rachel