Don't you love when you look back at your week and realise
you've come out the other side a better person? We've been having a blogging
competition at work these past few weeks, and yes, I may have an unfair
advantage, so I decided to push myself outside of my comfort zone and try video
blogging. It was like taking that last step off the high diving board and
feeling your body falling and falling and falling until you hit the water.
You're brain is yelling at you to stop the sensation, that uneasy feeling in
your stomach, thinking to myself "did I really have to do that? What was I
thinking?"
Then you surface from your plunge and realise, hey, that
wasn't half bad. Let's try it again. You were probably flailing your arms
around a lot, looking like a fool, but you did it.
So you can tell, I don't like jumping off high diving
boards. But I also wasn't big on video blogging. I don't like the way I look on
camera (mind you since starting muay thai, I feel my confidence coming back)
and speaking in front of people just scares the crap out of me. The first blog
was BRUTAL in my opinion, but I kept going. (I had my eye on the prize and I
was determined to win) What I didn't realise was that while I was trying to win
an extra vacation day, I was getting more comfortable in front of a camera. 5
video blogs later, I have to admit the last one barely hurt and actually went
rather smoothly. My friend Taryn didn't have to tell me to slow down as much, I
didn't fidget, I sat up straight and it took few attempts to get through my
spiel smoothly.
In the spirit of the blogging competition, I took the time
to watch a few other blogs. One of them was recorded by the owner of the company I work for. She is an amazing woman who lost her father suddenly last year and
I'm so happy she took the time to record her video blogs. Her blogs were about
the life lessons her father taught her. After hearing these lessons, it made me
sad that I didn't have the opportunity to know her father better but what an
incredible gift he left behind.
One of these life lessons was to challenge yourself and
break outside your box. Never settle, always push yourself, and try to learn something
new every day. I had one of those moments that made me sit back and think. I
did it. I pushed myself outside my box, I succeeded and I feel great! The best
part is it makes me want to do it again. What else can I challenge? What else
can I learn?
So break outside your box! Do something you've always wanted
to do even though it scares the crap out of you. And remember, just like a
first jump off the diving board, your arms may flail and it won't be pretty but
keep trying. Repetition is the best way to create perfection. So don't be surprised if you start to see some DIY video blogs at DIY Party & Entertainment Ideas. ;)
What have you done lately to break outside your box?
