Life begins at the end of your comfort zone — A Journey of Adventures
Back in the days when I was in the Tech MNC as a financial analyst, I wrote a similar post for an internal blogging competition. I did not win the best story but I won a prize for the best visual representation which they gave me free tickets to Universal Studio Singapore. I think for the my next few posts might be more of a personal experience and to show that accountants or IT people are not boring people as well while I am figuring out the next content. Life didn’t start with my transition to Analytics and it did not end there as well. It is always good to have different experiences in life and a story for yourself. This post relates more to an adventurous side of me. Nonetheless, I would like to share some of the experience here…
Back in the days when I was in my primary and secondary school, I used to be more of an introvert, a person that does not like to take risk and often reserved. However, things took a change after I entered the university and my perspective started to evolve and change. Things that often come to my mind such as:
- Have you ever wondered whether you will look back and regret not taking the opportunity years ago?
- While the time is ticking, don’t you wish you got the guts to do something on your bucket list?
- Will you say to yourself that I have not done anything meaningful for the last few years?
I would say most of us are very comfortable staying within the zone we are familiar with to the extent that we are not willing to venture out and heck… to make the jump.
It may be sort of a daredevil thing to do, attempting extreme adventure sports like skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping and paragliding. I will have some links of the uncut version as below to show these events.
Personally, I felt that these kind of adventures developed me as a person. In the sense it created a mentality that if you are able to take such a risk upon yourself, you should not be afraid to take the risk in your career, relationships and personal development. It is the mindset that sets you to continue experimenting and seeking out experiences rather than just staying in your comfort zone. If you have made the jump and felt the experience, you will be able to tell yourself that you have done the what most have not and you will be on your route to creating your own success.
For most who wondered how the experience will be, here’s a video that I went on to Switzerland, Interlaken for a sky diving.
The next attempt was a bungee jump from the world’s tallest bungee building at Macau. I took this jump after I finished my final paper as an undergraduate student in Singapore Management University. While everyone is taking graduation jump shots, I decided to take mine this way. This graduation jump became my highest and it is to signify to take a big leap step forward to a whole new enriching experience in life.
I think after taking two big jumps in my life, all other obstacles will not look as difficult. Solo trips are not as scary, pursuing items of your interest on your own becomes more intuitive and you become more focused on your objectives and future goals.
I guess I have an affinity with the sky as my adventure goes on with paragliding in Nepal. Unfortunately, I felt pretty unwell due to the pressure change when we were flying higher up to the mountains and need to cut it short.
There is also time for snow if you are willing to give it a try. It was my first time riding a “bike-like” vehicle. Furthermore, it was at an unfamiliar territory in Tromso, Norway.
An adventure will not be one if you do not do some hiking or climbing. One of the toughest climb for me as I was not prepared for it in any way(no gear and no training). The view is magnificent and definitely worth it. This adventure was pretty much impromptu and an initial solo trip till I met my fellow exchange friends along the way.
Reaching high for the sky, exploring far into the land, you also have to go for the depth under the sea. Scuba diving is also an activity that many considered to be dangerous or an activity that they will be too afraid to do it. To be honest, I was scared at first because it is a very different experience to control your movements and breathing underwater. I also struggled when I went through the beginner course. However, the beauty of sea is so mesmerizing that I decided to take it further and went to Thailand and completed advanced course and rescue diver certification. Since then, scuba diving became part of my life and I need my annual travel to the underwater world.
Need a thrilling adventure to start? Whitewater rafting can be a good choice as well. I am probably buried in the waters somewhere in the photo but it is definitely a worthwhile experience to be caught in the mess of the fast-moving river.
I still have a list but I guess these are the significant moments of a dare devil spirit. There are many more that I have done but probably could not be captured in film or video. As life goes on, the list will grow and it is always good to have an adventure to look forward to. Life becomes more interesting and you will have a story to tell.
All these activities takes one to move out of their comfort zone. Each time you will be afraid because it is something unfamiliar and very intimidating as well. However, once you are able to get over it, you will start to view life in a different perspective. To me, it has been a very exciting journey which allowed me to grow well as a person. For example, it is much easier for me to socialize as compared to my old days because I feel more comfortable being out of my comfort zone.
Though I am not saying that you should attempt these daredevil activities, but always taking a step beyond your familiar space will create a deeper and more meaningful experience for yourself. It applies well to your personal, spiritual and career development. Sharing this journey is about showing that there is a different life when you decided to make the step forward. Like my title says “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. Thanks for reading!
