Go ahead, just try it

Stepping out of your comfort zone

By Megan West, Contributor

We as humans have a tendency to stay within the realm of what we feel comfortable with, but is that really the best way to live? There’s a quote by Seth Godin that reads, “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.”

When I first read the quote I thought to myself that he must have meant for us to try things like skydiving or climbing a mountain and living on the edge. As I thought further, though, I realized that we are scared mainly of the unknown—of things we don’t typically do on a daily basis. So what are the benefits of breaking the routine and trying something new?

Let’s take a low-key example from my life last week: going to see Interstellar. Yes, the movie about astronauts who try and save the human race. It’s not that it scared me, but it was definitely something I did not want to partake in. Fearing I would be re-watching the 2013 space odyssey that was Gravity, I’ll admit I was dragged to this movie kicking and screaming. After settling in for the next three hours, convinced I’d be bored to death, I found myself unable to tear my eyes away from the screen.

The performances by the all-star cast were top notch and the brilliant cinematography carried the storyline beautifully. It was a rare, and rather profound moment of realization for me; if I had maintained my bad attitude and refused to see the movie, I would have missed something that in the end I found extremely entertaining. For the rest of the night I wondered what else I had missed out on in the past just because I didn’t think I would enjoy it.

Realistically, seeing a movie probably isn’t what Seth had in mind when he wrote that but it was a very subtle nudge that got me thinking about opportunities. Some of the greatest moments in history have been the result of circumstances full of fear. Martin Luther King was surely scared when he and hundreds of united protesters marched on Selma, Alabama. Anne Frank was likely terrified when she and her family hid from the Nazis.

Now, most of us will never make a mark on history, or even come close, but if we let fear of the unknown get in the way we could miss out on moments that would surely make huge marks on our lives. Whether it’s going to see a movie you don’t think you’ll like or taking up a new hobby that scares you, trying new things rarely ever leads down a bad path, and it has the ability to open your eyes to a whole new world.