Busting out of your comfort zone

A year ago, I packed up my Civic with as much as I could possibly fit-a real life game of Tetris-secured my 12 year old Pug mix Layla in her car seat bed and hit the road to move away from the home I had known for 36 years. Besides the semester living with a family in Spain, I have always lived in Southwest Ohio and always lived near my family. That wasn't always the plan, but as we know, life happens. My dream had always been to live somewhere near the beach, and the closest thing I had to that was an hour drive to a small lake or the Ohio river--which was not a body of water you want to swim in.

Growing up, we vacationed in Florida regularly and as an adult I followed suit, but by visiting other areas I hadn't been to growing up. While I love so many places in Florida, there are certain cities you know are better for vacation, than taking up a permanent residence. Once I secured a remote, work from anywhere job in 2021, I decided to test the waters of my dream. I packed up the house I was renting at the time, booked an airbnb in Jacksonville Beach--Northeast Florida being an area I had never visited, and hit the road for a month long experiment. During that time, I drove an hour north to a place called Fernandina Beach, situated on Amelia Island and fell in love. The town was what I imagined was a small beach town to be; cobblestone streets lined with palm trees, locally owned restaurants and shops, and main beaches that weren't covered in high rise hotels, condos or tourist traps. People lived here year round, this was small town charm at its finest and after leaving Jax Beach, I could not get Amelia Island off my mind.

I signed a year long lease on an apartment I'd never seen in person, in a town I didn't know a single person. The impulsive Aries in me trusting that everything would work out for me, and I can say now, a year later, that it did.

As I'm reflecting on this last year, I am so fucking proud of myself. I'm realizing it takes a lot of guts and faith to pick up and move to a place you don't know anyone and is 700 mile away from family and friends. What I've learned this year is that while I have been relying on myself for a long time, I can not only rely on me, but I can trust myself to. More importantly I can do really hard things. The most valuable lesson of all though is that the things you are so scared about, the things that immediately give you anxiety and make you want to shit your pants, are the most life changing. Busting out of your comfort zone is a sure path towards growth.

I'm not saying you need to move states, but I do think we all could benefit from stepping out of our comfort zone a bit more often. It can be a small step, and even that small step is going to make you feel proud and increase your self-confidence. If you're not someone naturally inclined to do out of your zone things, don't worry, I haven't always been either, but it's too late to start. I'll leave you with 3 tips to help get out of your comfort zone:

1. Once a month, do something by yourself, something that you would only do with someone else. Go to lunch alone, grab a glass of wine at the bar alone, see a movie alone. Something in public solo. So many of us fear being in public alone, and I think this is an excellent way to dip your toe in.

2. Once a month try something new. Maybe you've always wanted to take piano lessons, or learn French, or try a pole dancing class, once a month make an effort to do something brand new. Even if you don't love it, I promise you're going to feel great about yourself by getting out there and seeing.

3. This one is kinda weird, but if you're someone who has struggled with insecurity or lack of confidence, it's uber helpful. Once a month (or once a week), wear something that makes you nervous. Maybe it's bright red lipstick, or a trendy hat, a crop top, a body hugging dress, whatever it is, try it one time and see how it feels. I'm sure you'll feel weird at first, but the more you do this, the more natural it feels and the more confident you begin to feel as well.

Thanks for listening friends, I'll leave you with pictures from Day 1 of our adventure, and Day 365.

xoxo,

Dani