There is an old saying: you never know what your capable of until you step out of your comfort zone.
I want to tell you the story of a moment in which I stepped out of my comfort zone. It is a moment that I will never regret.
Five years ago, I was looking for a new way to work out. The workout that I was doing at the gym was not doing anything for me, physically or mentally. On the way home from a doctor’s appointment, I decide to stop into a local martial arts school and ask for more information. Yesterday, I received my certificate for my Muy Thai Kickboxing black belt.
It was not easy to start and to this day, it’s not easy. Stepping onto the mat as a white belt is an experience that is full of anxiety and stress. Will I fit in, will I be able to keep up with the class, etc, are two of the multitude of questions that any white belt experience. These days, the difficulty is pushing myself to attend classes when I am tired after a long day and have a list of chores to attend to at home. But I still go to class regularly and I look forward to it.
A black belt and the certificate the follows is more than the cloth that is the belt and the piece of paper that is the certificate. It is the commitment, the energy and pushing yourself even when you don’t feel like it.
That night, I took a chance, it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. If I can take that chance, what other chances can I take?
Writergurlny 
When I was a student at Gardner Webb University, I did have to step out of my comfort zone a number of times- I learned the importance of it during my time there.
Becoming a leader of a social group I was part of- I still see myself as a follower, not a leader. I was hesitant at first- I did have to think of it- I eventually said yes- little did I know it would prepare me for another thing that was out of my comfort zone.
Becoming president of my club- after Fall semester, all our officers would leave us either through graduation or not being able to continue due to being very busy the following semester. There were only three of us who could be officers, which included me- I wanted to be something other than president. I was soon told I knew the club better than the other two. I jumped at it and said I would be president- I just wanted the club to continue.
Moving from dorm to suite. I wanted to live in the dorms my entire time at university. Never did I consider living in the suites- the suites still feel like they are part of campus, but at the same time, feel separate from the dorms. I never once had a good roommate experience- from Spring 2015 to the Fall 2016-Spring 2017 school year. Friends of mine did ask me to move to the suites for the Fall 2017-Spring 2018 school year, which would be my final year at GWU. I had to think about it as well- I wanted the roommate experience and the people who asked were friends. I soon said yes- that decision was part of why my final year of university was one of the best years of my life.
So GWU made me go past my comfort zone a couple of times. I think the dorm to suite change was the hardest one.
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What a wonderful story, and I am so glad I read it. Thank you for becoming a leader from a follower. Stepping out into the unfamiliar can be as wonderful as we want to make it – a genuine adventure as exciting as any of them. Thank you for sharing your inspirational story. It is a winner. I have mine too, and I will share in the general post.
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Still feel like I am more of a follower than a leader. I defiantly have a very small comfort zone.
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Now this is for the author of this blog. Your story is absolutely wonderful as well. I think we all have our stories of stepping out into something different that can benefit our lives immensely and still maintain our feminine selves. I mean that in a way of the wise women of the universe, not being feminine only as being pretty, girly, etc. It takes a lot to find our true selves in the world today with so many things distracting us in so many directions. I happen to LOVE watching wrestling and also mixed martial arts. I have watched some great mma fighters, many of them Muay Thai experts, and I have always loved it when the woman are competing.
I am not, and don’t care to be competitive, not because I couldn’t be, but it is not my spirit, and since I will be 78 this November, I know what I love and don’t for my own self now. I am a young 78, more like a 45-year-old. I am in good shape physically, and can do things most younger people cannot do, like bend over and touch the floor without having to bend my arms, and I can bend backwards quite a good distance, and squat easily with arms out to balance.
I have had breast cancer and when I had my surgery, they wanted to give me radiation and chemo, but I refused politely, and I am still good today. What’s more, I had that in May 2016, and in October 2016, I graduated from Liberty University online with a degree in Criminal Justice. I always wanted to be a mentor/advocate for juvenile delinquents, and I have worked with them and others in the school districts, so I am quite capable of doing this work. I have not gotten accepted into a job doing that, but I went ahead and took my training as a court-appointed volunteer special advocate for foster children, so I feel good about that. I will do some form of work and my art and writing until I have to leave for another plane of this universe.
So I really give it to you women who reach out to do something new in your lives, no matter what it is. You have shown the immediate rewards, and I know there will be many more on different levels. Congratulations both of you, and it is an honor and pleasure to know you both. Anne
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