Story Weekend: Beyond Your Comfort Zone

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-climbing-silhouette-image1441976Have you ever tested your limits and pushed yourself beyond your comfort zone? We’d love to hear about your experience!

If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve contributed. As always, there are a few “rules”:

▪ The story must be true

▪ Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.

9 Comments

  1. Andi on February 7, 2015 at 1:12 pm

    Mid-life crisis. Never became the actor I always wanted to be. Days later notice in newspaper ‘open audition for charity performance of musical at the London Palladium’. I decide this was meant to be, so I travel up by train, evacuate my bowels in the station toilets and, high on adrenalin, I audition alongside young professionals. By some miracle I get in. I’m part of the chorus. A brilliant, scary experience and I can now say I’ve sung on the same stage as the great Judy Garland.

  2. Diane Chamberlain on February 7, 2015 at 1:55 pm

    Wow, I’m in awe of your courage! Congratulations.

  3. E.T. on February 7, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    Saying, “NO” to others is and has always been beyond my comfort zone, and it was not until late in life that I learned to do so, while remaining calm without getting into a yelling match… I first had to learn to say “NO” to my father—never an easy task and something I couldn’t do until quite late in life. But I had learned to apply it to other situations.
    Mrs. E. the bursar at the school my son attended kept billing me for payments I had made for my son’s tuition. She kept applying the payments to something other than the tuition. One day I received a letter stating that I would have to pay the balance in full, or remove my son from school.
    I went to the school office to see Father G, the principal, and was told he was not in right then but would be in shortly. I waited there for him. When he entered the office, I asked to speak to him. He said I could speak to him right there in front of a lot of school kids and other secretaries. I told him I needed to speak to him in private and that perhaps we could step outside to the courtyard.
    We did. I explained the situation with Mrs. E. and the letter I’d received. He said I needed to take it up with her. I said, I had and that is why I was there to talk to him.
    He said, well then, you have my reply—you pay or he goes.
    Then I said to him. I have paid my son’s tuition. You keep applying it to volunteering feeds that I have no time to volunteer. I am not going to tell him that he has to leave this school that he loves. If you want him out YOU TELL HIM. But first, please tell me, “when you die, is God going to say to you where is my money, or is He going to say to you, where is my charity?”
    The priest lost it. He yelled to the top of his lungs so loud that the entire school heard him. I walked away. Some kids later asked my son, “what did your mother way to Father G?”
    My son stayed in school. The next time I saw Mrs. E. she said, “that is why I didn’t want you to talk to Father G. He helped me when I needed help. Now I need to protect him because I know what happens …”
    OK. This is 325 words more than the 100 words limit. I couldn’t tell it in 100 words.

  4. Jill Burkishaw on February 7, 2015 at 6:09 pm

    I got married at 20 thought it was forever. Had my first child at 21 ad had 5 including twins and 2 miscarriages by 31. My husband believed my role in life was to run around after him ad the kids and brainwashed me into believing that was my role in life. When the twins started school I enrolled at college much to his disgust. 4 years later despite being told how stupid I was I had a pile of qualifications and confidence in myself I was 40 when i jumped right outside my comfort zone and through the doors of university to begin a full time degree course. 2 years later after many mind blowing arguments I used my year work placement to file for divorce. I graduated at 44 with a 2:1 degree, the future in front of me, the pride and support of my children and the knowledge that I had done the right thing regardless of the heartache and hard work. To this day my EX husband still hasnt worked out that I am a fully functional human being not an adroid that needs to be told what to do.

  5. Diane Hetfield on February 7, 2015 at 10:29 pm

    In my late twenties, I was so sick and tired of working at jobs that I had no passion for. I’d always admired professional athletes’ ability to make a good living doing what they loved. But upon realizing that I was more of a jack-of-all-trades than exceptional at one thing, I set out to become a professional stuntwoman. I was working in L.A. as a municipal bond trader at the time and found my first contact through a stockbroker that I worked with. He was married to an actress and was able to give me the name of a stunt coordinator. My first job was scuba diving off Catalina Island for a movie-for-TV which qualified me to join the SAG union. The next 13 years were full of adventure working in film, TV, and commercials. God can make a way!

  6. Rob lopresti on February 7, 2015 at 10:58 pm

    Every election season my wife and i make calls on behalf of our party, on phone and in person. I absolutely hate it, but it is something i can do, so i do it. Supposedly we are only contacting people from our own party there always a few surprises. I have never been yelled at by a voter in person but i have over the phone.

  7. Jennifer on February 7, 2015 at 11:09 pm

    i married young! Too young! To a man that was both physically and mentally abusive! The mental was actually so much worse than the physical! The LAST time he hit me I went to the hospital, got treated for my injuries and went right into the mental heath ward! I truly believe that if I hadn’t made that decision I would not be here to help so many other women dealing with domestic abuse! I am s string healthy happily married mother of two! I wouldn’t change a thing about my past, it made me who I am today!

  8. Melanie Taylor on February 7, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    My daughter was hospitalized on New Years Eve for a week, had unplanned surgery. I took on the task of caring for her 5 week old and 21 month old sons for that week. I was definitely out of my comfort zone with every 2 hour (or less)feedings! Ah, new motherhood is for the young, not 55 year olds, lol.

  9. Christina Wible on February 8, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    I have found that the best way to get out of my comfort zone is to get out the old bucket list, pick something and do it. Most of the things on my list are things I have been too scared to do and therefore postponed doing: standing up in front of a congregation and preaching, singing in front of a crowd, teaching a college class, judging a horse show rather than being judged. I’ve done all of those (with many more to come) just be saying yes to an opportunity presented. My bucket list is ever expanding.

Leave a Comment