I am a creature of habit - there I've said it. I find comfort in routine and being able to set my clock to those daily tasks. I love planning ahead, and I feel comfort when everything is in its spot.
To jump outside of that comfort zone? What?? Why would someone choose to take part in this crazy trend?
We are raised to go to school, find a job/career, get married, buy a house and keep working to maintain whatever lifestyle you have set for yourself. So, I carved out a career in IT recruiting, met the boy, got married, bought the house and started raising kids. Did I love my career? Yes and no. It was fun and I felt like I was making a difference for those who craved a new career for themselves. However, it wasn't a job where I leapt out of bed every morning with determination nor did I feel 100% fulfilled. Having said all of that, life was good, there was routine and we were shuffling through life raising little kids and doing "the norm".
Fast forward to the year before I turned 40. My hubby and I started tossing around the idea of having me stay at home full time with the kids. His career had him travelling quite a bit so it made sense for me to manage our life full time. At first, I balked at the idea. I loved having a career and I loved being able to contribute financially to our household income. However, that was also the same year where I started to forget things like picture day or crazy hair day. My eldest had also joined the volleyball team at school but I could never catch any of his games because they happened while I was at work.
Once the ball dropped on NYE, on the year I turned 40, my perspective on life changed in an instant. Here I was given a chance to spend more time with my kids and get involved with their lives, school and sports. Why was I struggling with this decision? Oh right, it meant an upheaval to the routine that I felt I needed and life was comfortable and predictable.
In the end, I dove into the world of my kids and LOVED IT! I flipped pancakes at their school, organized fundraisers and blared the latest tunes while carting the kids and their friends to baseball and soccer tournaments.
While I loved being a full time Mum, the kids were in school full time so I was getting a little bored during the day. So, I took another step outside of that comfort zone and opened up the Shoppe. Did I know anything about running a small handmade business? Nope, but I have learned (and continue to learn) the ins and outs along the way and I fell in love with what I do. It's exciting to watch something that began as a crazy idea, begin to take root and grow.
Now that I'm becoming famous for shaking up my routine and comfort zone, I decided to fly over to Scotland with my best friends of 30 years and take on the West Highland Way. The "Way" is a 155km hiking trek that we did over 8 days. I mean, let's be real here, I'm the least outdoorsy person on earth. I don't camp unless it's in a cottage with a dishwasher, I have never hiked to the degree where I needed a pack or trail shoes and I love A/C. However, this was a chance to get my feet on my ancestral roots and do something completely out of the norm.
This experience really pushed us to our limits. The terrain was rough and it rained every single day (every.single.day), but the laughter and tears we shed on this journey far outweighed the pain. It was an unbelievable experience - one that I still can't quite put into words.
What I'm trying to say, is that this so called comfort zone that we nestle into is a great place to be - especially for those who crave routine. However, wonderful things happen when you push yourself outside that zone. The great thing about all of this is, is that if you step out and it doesn't work out, you can go back and try again. The important part is that you keep trying.
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