As the Chair at Toastmasters this week I came up with this topic. Doing something new can be so scary for some. Stepping out of your comfort zone can take a lot of courage. For instance, this year I have done two things that have done this for me.
For over two years I wanted to volunteer at Wellspring here in London giving Reiki to clients. They have or are recovering from cancer treatments. So I connected with Wellspring in December and began the process of the paper work and the police check. The paper work was reasonably simple and my references were great. The police check took close to 6 weeks to get back! Not that I was worried about it! I just thought I would be helping out sooner rather than later. After all I had waited two years to apply! It came in last week and last Monday I began working there.
It was awesome. They make the appointments for you and the consents are signed. Three people are written up for us. So all my new Wellspring partner and I had to do was give the treatments. New clients can receive up to three Reiki treatments, and then they can be put on a waiting list for more treatments. That way if someone cancels they can get in. I so love the atmosphere here of caring and support. As a retired nurse I have missed the company of others in a healing atmosphere.
The second thing I have done this year is to volunteer to be the Toastmasters Event Chair for our contest coming up in February. This was not something I was looking forward to, but knew I needed this in order to complete my Competent Leadership role.
This definitely took me out of my comfort zone! I did ask for help and received a lot of this. Lining up all the people needed for this contest has not been as tough as I thought it would be. Most of the major roles required, including contestants, has been easier than I thought. It is over a month away and I have many of my ducks in a row. This puts me more at ease.
I know the night of the contest will be quite a bit of work; however, the people who have volunteered to chair these contests will take over a lot of the last minute details with me. When you work with other people it makes a difficult job so much easier! The plus of doing this job is I will be able to help someone else out with this role in the future!
How many times have you stopped yourself from becoming all you can be? Take that first step and try something new. Ask for help in your journey. You will be surprised by how many people who will be there for you. They have had people mentor them as well. Isn’t that what it is all about? Doing something new, scary even, and then helping someone else to ease their fears.
The sense of accomplishment is pretty awesome. It means your next challenge might be a bit easier for you. Taking that first step is the difficult part. I have seen and heard about people whose lives literally changed because they have done this. Will you give it a try? If you have already done this, then kudos and continue on your exciting journey!