Comfort Zones

I'm staying at a friend's place right now. In the transition of moving into another place. I was washing dishes last week and noticed a dirty coffee mug in the sink. On the mug there was a quote I've never read before. A quote from Neale Donald Walsch, an author of several New York Time's Best Sellers. The quote read, "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone".
I have never read a quote that spoke so deeply to me, that related to me so personally. "Life begins at the end of your comfort zone".
WOW! Powerful.
The last 5 years of my life I have had to adapt to new environments. Both physical and social. When I moved out of my parents house it wasn't the most ideal of situations. Today my parents and I are very close and have a strong relationship. But back then that wasn't the case, so I house hopped from one place to another. From one family to another. In the beginning it was a bit difficult and well...uncomfortable. But as I had to continue to change scenes, it became less of a struggle. Eventually it didn't effect me either way, whether I was staying in one place or moving to another. As I got older, and started modeling I continued moving around. I began living in model houses months at a time. With my house mates constantly rotating in and out, and new people moving in, there was never a month that was like the last. I learned to love it though.
With moving around all the time from one city to another or even one area to another, I was constantly looking for extra work aside from modeling. Consequently I've been to a crazy amount of interviews, met so many different kinds of people, and worked in a Heinz57 list of jobs. Honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. I enjoy learning new things and expanding my horizons. I feel as though if I'm not out of my comfort zone then I'm not growing. If I'm not in any way feeling pressure or stress, then I get antsy and look for something to challenge me. In college I did a research paper on stress and the effects it has on us. Though there are negative effects, surprisingly there are more positive ones, depending on how you perceive and respond to stress.
Stress is what pushes us past our limits. However, if we work with stress, then we are able to adapt to the new line it pushes us to, and maintain that line, thus making new limits.
When you realize Life Is Stress, you begin to see all around you opportunities to grow and expand yourself to limits you never thought was possible. You begin to live in a state of constant stimulation, where you feel like a sponge soaking up life's splashes of experiences. Almost like Jim Carrey's 2008 film "Yes Man", minus the mayhem and destruction.
That awkward silence in a crowded elevator turns into an opportunity for a joke you've been waiting for the perfect moment to deliver, when you have undivided attention. When you would avoid at all costs awkward situations, now you smile to yourself as you carelessly laugh and watch others squirm. When before you would dread going to social events that you didn't know many people, now you look forward to it. The rush of walking into a room of strangers and spontaneously starting a conversation.
Making new friends every day tends to make every day a good day.
So try it. Whenever you feel like avoiding something, turn it around, smile to yourself, and think, "this could be interesting :)"

It would be totally cool if you guys shared what you've recently done to step outside your comfort zone in the comment box below this post. Anything from trying a new sport or hobby, to jumping into awkward situations and doing what I like to call "riding the awkward wave" ;)