Losing The Comfort Blanket
I’ve just had an amazing few days. On Monday I was doing some voluntary work ( I call it that but it’s more like an enjoyable hobby) at a local school doing a business enterprise task with some year 10 students.
Once again I had in total about 40 students to look after by myself and we had although it was tough, I had a blast! Their task was to create mobile phone holder with minimal resources like: pen, paper, card, etc and their imagination was the limit! They came up with some amazing ideas some of them just blew me away!
It just goes to show how creative that children can be when they are encouraged and challenged in a productive way!
Today was a similar day but this time I went to an all girls school. We did a similar activity but this time they had to design a clothing brand and outfit, once again from very basic materials. Once again the response from the students was amazing. They all had such a fantastic time and created some amazing ideas from scratch!
After I got home I went to the gym and straight after that I went to a club. I was supposed to be going with some friends but most of them couldn’t make it and I nearly didn’t end up going too.
But then I thought to myself, why?
I realised that sometimes having the familiar people around you can be almost like a comfort blanket and I realised that I didn’t want to be someone who is that type of person.
So I decided to go by myself and just go and have a good time and do some networking for my Life Coaching business at the same time. I did feel a little reserved at first but after a while I got into the full swing of things, did loads of dancing, (even in this boiling weather!) :-p met loads of new people and made some friends and just generally got down and boogied! 😛
It did make me realise that sometimes I try too hard with people, especially ladies, I have no problem making friends with guys but I always find myself trying just that little bit too hard with girls for some reason so next time I go I’m going to aim to relax more, approach strangers, guys and girls alike and speak to them without reservation and just enjoy the experience.
If you find yourself restricted by blankets, once in a while, challenge yourself and smash that comfort zone that you’ve created into smithereens! Go to the movies or club alone, go up to a stranger and strike up a conversation!
We have a natural tendency to think the worst may happen if we do so but I assure you that when you approach people with a friendly genuine smile and just say “hello” then you’ll be incredibly surprised by the welcoming response you get!
Throw away that comfort blankey! 😀
Hey cool read! I like this, what an honest read! I have to admit, losing our comfort blanket can be the hardest thing ever but it can be done with a little practice and overcoming our obstacles what ever they might be! 🙂
I also think that when we surpass our comfort zones, we come out alot more courageous and resilient than before and this is something that really challenges our belief systems we clung onto for a really long time but it helps us grow in maturity and character which is something I dont think I could trade for the world personally speaking, and we come out stronger and as different people for the better character wise and this feeling well it empowers me alot more!
Hey R,
Way to dig out some of my old post, I wrote this back in 2006 – i wrote a much more up to date version here – https://www.unlimitedchoice.org/blog/confidence/going-it-alone/ but you are totally right, it’s jsut awesome to lose that blanket, you get so much out of it and can do wonders for you! 🙂 x