I’m feeling sentimental tonight.
It’s been a day of farewells, best wishes and ‘we’ll miss you’ as I packed up and handed over a job I’ve been in for more than two years. More than ever, I felt compelled to stay late at my desk to finish that ‘one last thing’ in the never-ending queue. And today, unlike so many other days when things just whizz by in a hasty blur, I took time to enjoy the people around me who had shaped most of my last 800 days on this earth.
I am also feeling the buzz of new beginnings and that little nervy voice that makes my hands shake a little. I’m glad I’ve taken on a new opportunity that was unexpectedly presented to me, and am starting to recognise that empowering feeling that comes with a new challenge.
As I walked home tonight, brown box in hand, looking like a typical rom-com character who’s just been fired, I considered the impact that the new and unfamiliar has on people.
Only yesterday I was reading a blog, Reclaiming My Future, about faking it ‘til you make it and looking new challenges in the eye. It made me recall the stomach-sickening fear I felt when I first took myself to Asia on a solo adventure… and the liberating feeling that followed (a few days later) when I realised there’s nothing to be afraid of. Since then, I have approached travelling, solo endeavours, moving towns, with a stubborn willingness to ‘give it a go’, knowing that I am a capable, independent woman.
But somehow this one snuck up on me. The comfort zone of a familiar workplace slipped quietly under my radar, leaving me feeling a little surprised at my sentimental and anxious feeling tonight.
I guess it’s easy to take the smaller changes for granted. In the grand scale of things, a new job is not that shocking; but when forgetting to recognise how comfortable we’ve become, it can stir up those feeling of doubt and trepidation.
So on that note, I say let’s give it a go, step out of the comfort zone, and remember not to forget to challenge ourselves a little more often.
Nic Freeman 
I feel so anxious when I’m too comfortable in a job, routine or just within my comfort zone. Also hoping someone do something to shake things up a little! Stepping outside the the comfort zone certainly does feel refreshing and thrilling, but does require effort.. (he types lazily as he sips tea)
Hey Rodger, I agree. The fear or anxiety of something new is quickly overtaken with the thrill of the adventure!
Reblogged this on johnyblog1.