It’s not in our nature to do things that make us uncomfortable or that we fear or, even worse, things we think we will fail at. Automatically, we resort to things that are familiar or things we know we have a higher likelihood in succeeding at. But it’s doing things outside of our comfort zone that are what help us to grow. It is how we learn new things about ourselves, and also, sometimes confirms things we already knew. Let me dive into it…
I recently went on a trip to Mexico, which in itself, naturally put me a bit out of my comfort zone. A few friends of mine had recommended to me that I go scuba diving – they ranted and raved about how amazing it is and that they do it frequently. I like a good challenge and I really like trying new things and adventures, but the thought of jumping into the ocean and breathing underwater with a whole new world of creatures absolutely terrified me. Probably because I had a traumatizing experience with a dolphin once. And by traumatizing, I mean when I was little I was forced to pet a dolphin against my will…okay so maybe not traumatizing for the average person, but terrifying for me.
I signed up to dive in Mexico but over the course of the day and a half leading up to the dive, I changed the reservation 3 times because I kept feeling uncomfortable with it. The poor Air Canada rep who was responsible for helping me – bless his soul, was beyond frustrated I’m sure.
So, then it happens – I’m sitting on the pier at Las Caletas Beach Hideaway getting taught the basics of what I need to know to go underwater. How to breath, hand signals, etc. I keep making awkward jokes because that’s how I react when I’m nervous.
Finally, I jump in the water and the dive instructor brings me just below the surface to practice a few of the skills I need to know. I do just fine. Okay, now I’m a bit calmer since I understand how to breathe underwater and realize it’s unlikely I will drown to my death…but I’m still petrified of what I will see. Confident that if I see a shark, whale, dolphin or pretty much any relatively large sea animal, if it doesn’t kill me, the heart attack will.
Against his will, I force the dive instructor to hold my hand for the first 10 minutes of the dive. Keep in mind that there are other people with us, who are also trying diving for the first time but sorry folks, I need this guys’ hand.
And it all went fine. It went great actually – ten minutes in I had let go of his hand and started swimming around checking out all the sea life below and above me and on the seawalls surrounding us. And then the next day I went out again, to a different dive site and dove two more tanks. I was loving it, and it was honestly a lot less scary than I had built it up in my head to be.
The moral of my ridiculous dive story is that by going out of my comfort zone and doing something that scared me, I found a new hobby to enjoy – but more than that, I proved to myself that I can overcome certain fears, which will hopefully give me the confidence in the future to leave my comfort zone and try other new exciting adventures.
What’s the saying? You won’t know until you try it!
Maggie
