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Chilling it in Bondi

While chilling out in beautiful downtown Bondi, I came across an interesting article on the living savvy site “Is pushing out of our comfort zone always a good thing?”

Here are my thoughts based on my experiences over the last half year or so:

If growth is your plan, then a bit of discomfort is almost inevitable – a caterpillar has to grow and change to become a butterfly. My own personal odyssey has been uncomfortable, challenging and downright scary for me.
I’m just an ordinary kind of guy – father of two wonderful kids; a husband to the most supportive person I know but an ordinary person none-the-less – and I find myself having taken on a challenge to try to help create a safe world for my kids to grow up in.

Even though this is way outside my comfort zone I believe that, had I NOT done this, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. In order to do this I have invested my nest-egg in public speaking skills; I have left (however temporarily) a good job; I have even left my family (the raison d’etre for all of this) to cycle around Australia over almost 5 months.

I am encountering lots of new experiences along the way – not least of which is dealing with media opportunities and “selling myself” to organisations that can help me get my message out. This is even discounting the physical trials of riding 5 days out of 7 and giving presentations afterwards. At the ripe old age of 54 this is something that 7 months ago was not even on my radar let alone a plan of action, yet I find myself now over 1,500km from home talking to people on how they can make a real difference in their lives and help to drive down their GHG emissions while avoiding unnecessary energy costs.

This is all good stuff and I wouldn’t change it for the world – after all, it’s the world as we know it that I want to save.

……..I don’t know if any of this rings true for any of you but feel free to leave a comment if you like – this could be on your own experiences or simply what you think about this kind of thing.

I can only speak for myself but this roller-coaster ride I’ve been on since February has been one of the most enriching experiences I have had in my 54 years on this blue-green planet we all co-inhabit. I heartily encourage each and every one of you to follow your dreams & passions; especially if this is something that you perceive will make a real difference in the world.

3 replies on “Chilling it in Bondi”

I plan to be chilling out in Byron on the weekend.

Wonderful to see how our post http://livingsavvy.com.au/no-comfort-zone prompted reflection. I am sure that on your ride around the country you have plenty of time to think and wonder.

I was captivated by your adventure when I first heard about it. I agree that stepping outside your comfort zone adds to our life expereinces, capabilities and the wonderful stories we have to share.

I like to choose when I step outside mine (which I did in a significant way when I launched Living Savvy) and not feel pressured to do so as a result of the many “musts” or “shoulds” we hear.

Well done for pushing your limits and boundaries!

Jo

Ps. Watch out for those magpies isn’t it swooping time now?

Jo,
Thanks for the warning. I’ve already encountered these – most notable on my ride to Wagga http://www.ridethetalk.com.au/2010/08/yack-albury-wagga/.
Your site is a testament to your passion and I’m sure there are many people who take away from it a confirmation that what they are doing is exactly the right thing to be doing. Yours is an inspirational site and you obviously put a lot of personal thought into your musings – I especially liked the “dream catcher” & “living true to you” posts.
PS. I’m probably a bit outside your ‘demographic’ but I still enjoy reading your posts. 😉

Hi JK,
What a journey! You are probably already entering the skin cancer capital of the world. Please take care. After another 4 months on the road, could bring a lot of damage to you without prudent protection. We would like to see you around much longer !
RAF
ps. With a tera snow dump last night, and being in a place where you can’t enjoy it, we can see you are very committed !

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