Have you heard of Comfort Challenges or Rejection Therapy? Interested in joining me this year?
======================
Day 3 of 30 — “30 Things About Me Experiment”
Embracing discomfort and authenticity by sharing more about me that you might not know!
======================
For a while I’ve been fascinated by the idea of pushing outside of one’s comfort zone.
Years ago I read about this thing called a “Comfort Challenge,” and later found out about “Rejection Therapy.”
First: I want to know if you might be interested in joining me this year in overcoming certain discomforts and fears. (It would be awesome to get a few people together to do some fun Comfort Challenges as a group.)
Years ago, I started to get out of my comfort zone in little ways.
Doing things that made me weird and feel uncomfortable.
But oh-so-liberating.
Even some mundane or unassuming things were ways for me to get out of my comfort zone:
Wearing bandanas.
Taking selfies with people I just met.
Wearing scarves.
Sneakily putting clothespins with fun or encouraging messages on people.
Wearing facepaint for the first time at an event.
These few things were the earliest ways I was getting outside of my comfort zone.
Pictured is a woman I met at an event a couple of years ago, attending my sister’s competition.
Thousands of people in attendance.
She had a facepainting booth set up, so I got in line.
When it was my turn, she asked what I wanted:
“Whatever you want.”
I had essentially given someone I didn’t know free reign to paint anything they wanted on my face.
That night I experienced things I never had before:
People looking at me (the facepaint) with curiosity;
People talking about the facepainting in passing;
People looking SHYLY away from ME when I looked their way (ironic much?);
People starting up a conversation with me to ask about the facepainting;
It was strangely liberating being outside of my comfort zone.
After that event, I started to lean into the concept of Comfort Challenges and Rejection Therapy even more.
But I kept putting it on the backburner (i.e., I kept avoiding it) for a couple of years.
So this year I really want to dive into the concept of getting out of my comfort zone by doing really weird and uncomfortable things to get more comfortable being uncomfortable;
– Laying down on the ground in the middle of a busy place.
– Standing backwards in an elevator.
– Dress completely differently for a day/week.
– Ask random strangers for hugs.
– Approaching and complimenting someone who’s intimidating.
– Strike up a conversation with complete strangers.
– Ask someone to dance (not at a dance event).
– Take a new class; improv, acting, aerial, parkour, Toastmasters
– Ask for a discount.
– Invite someone to share a secret with one another.
I’ve got so many compiled now and want to challenge myself to follow through this year.
But, it would be really awesome to have a small group of people (especially local) to meet up with and do various Comfort Challenges and/or Rejection Therapy.
If you find yourself intrigued by the idea of Comfort Challenges or Rejection Therapy, have been wanting to do it for a while too, or want to join me this year, reach out and let me know!
//
