Getting out of your comfort zone won’t kill you…hopefully.
I am a creature of habit, which can be good and bad depending on the situation. For vacations I would rather stay at home and do nothing…my wife is not the same so we end up going somewhere. I don’t really want I meet new people and do new things but once I do I am 99% of the time happy I did.
So on this week’s podcast I discussed this topic and talked about how I am doing a few things that are outside of my comfort zone, let’s discuss.
First, there is the writing, I am not a good typist but I have always loved books and reading and when I was younger I would write poems, songs, stories, and comic books. None of these things made it out into the world, they were mostly for me but I loved doing them all. Now that I am older and time is limited with kids, family, and a job I often think about those times when I would create just for fun, just for me and I miss it. Now when I create it for a YouTube video or the website so decided I wanted to start writing again…really the blog sparked this interest up. I want to write short stories, my memoir, and maybe some poems (I wrote a very dark short one the other night).
Some of these I may share and some I may not, we will see how it goes in the future but I am going to do it.
I have been researching like crazy, looking up writing techniques, tips, do’s and don’ts as well as apps and books to help me get started. Here is a list and a little description of what I found so far (minus YT videos and SkillShare classes)
Scrivener for Mac- I am using this as the writing hub, you can write your manuscript here as well as keep your outline, notes, and all research on your writing project. This app is super powerful and I have only scratched the surface of its abilities.
The Emotion Thesaurus- This is a book on how to express a character’s emotions when writing, this is one book in a series and I bought them all on my kindle but I have only started with the Emotion Thesaurus. Here is a link to the complete series
Understanding Show, Don’t tell- This is a short book that dives into the writing rule of show, don’t tell. This I have learned is a common mistake writer make at the beginning where they just flat out tell the ready what’s going on without using clues or descriptions. It makes sense to me so that’s a plus.
I also bought some physical books that I can take notes in and try to learn from. Those are all Memoirs-
F*ck it I’ll start tomorrow by Action Bronson
Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey
Will the circle be unbroken by Sean Dietrich
I want to use these books to see how different people structure their memoirs and get ideas from them as I prepare to write mine.
I will start setting out a time each day to work on my writing, this will not be research time but actual writing. I am starting with 15 minutes each day and move from there. I have some ideas for short stories to start first and from there I will start working on parts of my memoir.
I am super excited for this journey and so happy to share what I learn with you all…side note man I wish I could type faster 😂 but I think dictation will be my friend in this process.
The other thing I am doing outside of my comfort zone is a trip I have planned. I have been asked multiple times to attend a men’s leadership retreat but have always passed but this time the time seems right. It is coming up in May and I will have been fully vaccinated for two weeks so I will be good to go on the covid end of things. The retreat is in Wyoming and is a secluded area in the Rocky Mountains or surrounded by them and there is no wifi and no cell service so it will definitely be a different experience for me.
I will be there with a group of men to discuss life and that’s the main focus, just to relax and meet new people. I think making these connections will be good for me but it does not come without trepidation, some days I am super excited to go and others I try to find excuses in my head on why I shouldn’t go.
I have the flight booked and will be sending in the payment for the stay soon so no real turning back now. One thing that I am super excited about is bringing my camera and document the trip with photos, the little I have seen of the retreat is beyond beautiful.
I am optimistic I will enjoy this time away as difficult as it will be for me to be away from home and away from my family but it will be good to meet new people and hear their stories and learn. I will also bring my laptop to try and get some writing done there when time permits, I feel like it may be a great place to be inspired.
This is one of those things that my wife has always try to beat into my head that will be good for me, she is always right…she has signed me up for many things that I didn’t want to do but was always thankful I did it when it was done. She is a guiding light for me always lighting the correct path.
Now that being said if I go to the retreat and end up being hunted for sport know that it was her fault and I wanted to stay home 😉.
My advice to you is to die very small things at first to get out of your comfort zone and let those lead to bigger things, getting outside of your comfort zone is a good thing, even if it feels like the worse thing in the world.
Larry
