36 Seconds

This past month I watched how fear can be overcome in 36 seconds.

My youngest son Michael is on the high school football team. During a pre-season practice he injured his back. This required down time from practice and physical therapy. Once the physical part was healed you could see the mental hesitation of not wanting to get hurt again in his performance. He didn't trust himself fully and held back from giving 100%.

How many times has fear of failure or getting hurt kept you from trusting in yourself and participating fully in life? It's so much safer to be sidelined and not risk the hurt, but then we don't experience the thrill of the win either.

In the 4th quarter with a secure lead I watched the offensive coach warming Michael up. Michael was put in the game for a couple plays lasting all of 36 seconds. When the game ended and he took off his helmet I could see from his expression that in those 36 seconds he had faced his fear and won.

What is holding you back? What fear can you face and get yourself back in the game of life?

Comfort Zone

Today in talking with other women I found out we all enjoy staying in our "comfort zones." We enjoy the sense of security in knowing what we are doing and not stepping out of that zone. The problem with never stepping out and enlarging our zone is that it shrinks around us ever so slowly.

I don't want to just be comfortable in life, I want to live life with excitement and stretch myself to find new talents within myself. I won't let my "comfort zone" grow smaller with each year I age. So what is something that will make me tingle with excitement or have butterflies in my stomach? I'm going to think on this and will let you know what I am going to stretch myself on. How about you? What can you do to step outside your comfort zone?

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents that would otherside have lain dormant." Horace