LIVING ON THE EDGE - PART 3. Social Experiment: How I spent 2 weeks outside my comfort zone

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Update: This post series have been published as an article 'Why I Spent 2 Weeks Outside My Comfort Zone' on TurnPoint educational start up website. You can check it out here.

My 'Getting out of your comfort zone' project has come to an end. It is a pity in many ways - we grew very close with many participants and working together as a group made a huge difference - never ever did I get such great support and inspiration. And I will miss being this focused - the project's timeframes kept me well motivated and organized.

The biggest lesson I learned from this programme perhaps is the fact that if I focus on a goal and take consecutive steps in its direction for at least 2 weeks in a row I can achieve HUGE results. I almost couldn't believe that during these two weeks I've done things I've been planning to do for years, but was postponing them for various reasons, waiting for a 'better moment'.

Things happened for me when I overcame my fears. During these 2 weeks

- I have written my first ever short story and took a leap and shared it with the audience for feedback. And I got lots! People actually not only took their time to read the story - but to analyse it in great detail. I could never expect anything similar - it was a huge encouragement and their critique was extremely helpful.
- I have met with other writers in my borough and learned there is nothing scary about calling myself an 'aspiring writer'. That I'm not the only one attempting to write in a foreign language. And that like-minded people can give you a very positive drive! I am meeting them again this week this time to share my story and hear their thoughts.
- I have written an article and dared to send it to a number of publications - let's see what happens next.
- I have restarted this blog, and gave it a tiny makeover. Doing this made me realise how much I'd missed it!
- I have signed up for the writing camp at NaNoWriMo in April and just can't wait to benefit from close work with like-minded people again.
- I have joined the gym and go there every working day during lunch break now. It feels gooood :) And my initial target of 30 swimming pool's lengths currently stands at 40 and I'm not stopping there!

One of the most important things I got out of this game, was understanding that it is absolutely necessary to share my plans and dreams with other people. Previously I was more of a I-will-tell-people-when-I've-already-made-it kind of girl. The universe needs to know about my plans and goals, because this is the way I can get the support and can share ideas. During the recent couple of years I’ve learned my lesson - without the support and participation of others I'm not getting much further ahead. People shared so many useful things with me after they leaned about my dream and their support still keeps me going.

You are probably guessing what I will tell you next. Yes, all magic happens outside of your comfort zone. Your development is there too. And the best people you will ever meet are there as well. And all the new places and new people will become your comfort zone in the end. In fact it will happen rather soon.

As I continue the journey outside my comfort zone my adventure becomes more and more fascinating every day. I am starting to make bigger steps towards freedom. And I can't wait to see what will happen next because my personal experiment is not over yet.

Acknowledgements: 'Getting out of your comfort zone' is a project led by Svetlana Pokrevskaya on her blog (in Russian). This post has been inspired by her articles.

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