One Step At A Time
Do you ever get bogged down when embarking on a new undertaking? Are you unsure where to start or how to proceed? Nervous that you'll make the wrong move?
Today’s blog walks you through how to step out of your comfort zone to get to where you want to be in life.
Audio Transcription:
Hello, and welcome to my musings.
I was thinking back the other day to August of 2016 when I started working at my dream job. I was thrilled! It was everything I wanted and more. It was remote, flexible, I was making more money, it included travel, and I was working with like-minded people which was such a key point for me.
It was also very new and stretched me in ways I couldn’t have imagined and that’s what brings me to my musings.
I’d like to start by telling you a story.
You see, at that time I was not much of a traveler. I grew up in small towns in Maine where we didn’t have subways or even city buses for that matter. And I was very happy, but I knew I wanted more.
In my new position, I was blessed to work from home, but needed to go into New York City to the actual office from time to time. This worked out well for me in the beginning because I’d go see my son in Albany and then meet my boss and take the train into the city with her. We’d get off the train and then I’d just keep my eyes on her back and follow her as we made the ½ mile trip from Penn Station to 5th Ave.
We did this several times and I became more comfortable with the process, although I never really paid attention to how we got to our destination as she took a different route each time.
Then, on one particular visit we went for a 2-day office visit which meant an overnight. This was all fine with me right up until the end of the workday when my boss said “Hey, I’m going to meet a friend for dinner. I’ll meet you at the hotel afterward”.
I was instantly struck with terror but didn’t want it to show. She left to meet her friend and I put the hotel address into Google Maps and said a prayer. I thought I’d be fine, but quickly learned that there is sometimes a lag with the maps, I’m guessing because the buildings are so tall. I didn’t even know which way to turn when I left the office building.
I headed out in one direction and after a block or so, my maps caught up to me and suggested I take a U turn, which I did, but at this point my heart was pounding and I’d never felt as out of my comfort zone as I did in that moment. I felt totally alone, as if I’d been plopped down in the middle of a maze and really didn’t know what I was doing.
On top of that, I had convinced myself, that I obviously looked like a totally lost tourist, complete with my little pull along suitcase, and all the dire consequences loomed in front of me. I just knew that if I stopped at a store to ask for directions someone would overhear and I would end up on an episode of Law & Order SVU. I wanted to cry but didn’t think that was a good idea either.
I ended up finding the hotel. I had never felt so relieved in my entire life. I honestly wanted to kiss the ground.
As I look back on it now, I’m laughing. I had no idea at the time how NYC was laid out and how simple it really is to find your way around. In preparing to tell you this story, I looked at Google Maps again and realized that the hotel was literally 3/10 of a mile away from the office and all I had to do was turn left out the door, walk 1 block, cross the street and walk another block or two to arrive at my destination. Easy peasy, but I had myself really worked up.
After surviving that incident, things went along smoothly for a bit until the time came that I had to start going to the office and getting back to Albany by myself. I found myself in another emotional upheaval and the stories in my head took over again.
Somehow, I found my way to the office from the train station that first day, but when I got ready to leave at the end of the day, I again became confused and didn’t know which way to turn when I left the building. Thank goodness for a coworker who came to my rescue. He very kindly walked me through it, turn right out of the door, cross the street at the light, go down Broadway, etc. and I’m grateful to tell you that I made it.
I tell you all of this to illustrate how scary the unknown can be and how stuck in the story in our head we can get, but each and every time I made those trips on my own, they became easier and easier to navigate until I was doing them without thought.
I’m using a geographical example, but this can literally be anything. What stretches you? What takes you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown?
My takeaway from this and my message to you is that getting out of our comfort zone can be VERY scary and can tempt us to stay put in the familiar, but guess what? We don’t move forward when we stand still.
And for any time that we’re feeling stretched and overwhelmed by how we’re going to get to where we want to go, I invite you to break it down and take it step by step.
We don’t need to know how everything will unfold for us to take the first step. If you feel called to head in a direction of your choosing, just look at the first step and take it. And from there the next step will present itself and you can then take that step.
I don’t know where I heard this, but I love the analogy of driving at night. We can’t see beyond our headlights, but we keep going, and as we drive along, our path is illuminated, and we get to our destination.
As the author, Glennon Doyle says, we can do hard things. I believe in you. Just keep taking that next step.
Before I end today, I’d love to tell you that beginning in November, I’ll be offering a bi-weekly 30-minute meditation and oracle card pull. These sessions will offer you the opportunity to take some well-deserved time for yourself to come back into your body and settle your nervous system as well as the fun of seeing what the oracle card has to say to you!
I’ve offered these sessions to other private groups and organizations, but now I want to open it up to my community.
For more info, please SIGN-UP with your email in the form below to receive the link to join the LIVE group meditation happening on Monday November 20th @ 7:30pm EST!
And until next time please remember that true peace is always just one breath away.
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