Are YOU living totally in your comfort zone, but feeling just a little bit bored? Is there something you’ve dreamed of doing, but not taking action on because your inner critic is saying “don’t be silly”?
That was me a dozen or so years ago. Totally comfortable but bored. One day as I was watching Dancing with the Stars, something inside of me stirred. I was totally fascinated by the whole thing! Wow! Would that ever be cool! But no way could I do that… Wait a minute! It so happened that our son was engaged at the time. So wheels started turning and I approached my husband Alan with the idea of taking some dance lessons together in preparation for the wedding. Dancing is something you do with your spouse, right? So I dragged him off his beloved ski hill and out to some dance lessons. It was love at first sight – people, movement, aliveness! At least for me…
Alan couldn’t wait to finish the lessons. And I couldn’t wait to figure out how to somehow continue myself. It was so exciting – but incredibly scary and totally out of my comfort zone. Could I do it? What would people think of me – I was so much older than most of them. Dancing with strange men was not something my mother or my culture ever taught me about. And all my life I had been taught to trust my brain, not my feet – up to that point, I had never danced, never done anything musical, and never participated in any sport or athletic activity.
Then one day the studio was putting on a show which I attended, and I watched an older woman named Ann gliding gracefully with her teacher around the floor to a beautiful waltz. That was the defining moment for me. If she could do it, so can I.
So began years of new fun, new friendships and new challenges. Lots of them! When I danced, I was developing an independent, authentic ME – in the studio, the rest of the world disappeared: you were not defined by your family, your job title, or your history. It was only the present moment. I loved that sensation of feeling and moving, not thinking. And it was social! It broke the isolation I had always felt being a solo entrepreneur. But I wished I could dance better – I liked what I felt like when I danced, but not what I looked like.
But I didn’t give up. The journey was too much fun. One thing dancing has taught me is to focus on the journey – because you’re never going to be as perfect as you want to be.
Today I’m beginning to actually like what I look like. I am having more fun than ever before. My lessons are filled with laughter as well as the most genius instruction I’ve ever encountered. My dancing has improved 1000%. I’m even getting to dress up in glitzy costumes to compete Pro-Am style, just like DWTS. I am living my dream. I am flying high.
What about you? What hobby or activity have you dreamed about but not taken action on? Don’t think too much. Don’t listen to your inner critic. Just tap into your inner child and decide it’s finally time to do what you love!
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