Stepping out of my Comfort Zone–Overcoming Adversity

I often wonder why I have trouble erasing certain events in my life–events which didn’t feel very good at the time and continue to haunt me today. For example, in grade 7, we were asked to stand up in class and the  music teacher went up and down the rows while we sang a song. She tapped the chosen few on their shoulders to be in the choir. You can probably guess that I wasn’t chosen. Even today I am self-conscious about my singing and the only place you will hear me singing (without apologizing) is in the car. Another incident was in my first year university English class. On the first day we were asked to write a story because the professor wanted to divide the students according to skill level. In the next class, I found myself in ‘remedial’ English 101. What a shock to my ego. I admit English wasn’t my favorite subject–Math, Science, and Physical education were my strengths–but I loved reading, journaling and writing letters.

Why am I telling you this? Because I took one of the biggest steps out of my comfort zone this past spring when I signed up to be part of an Overcomers project. Thirty-eight authors submitted a story about an event they overcame in their life. Overcomers Inc.-true stories of hope, courage and inspiration is the brain child of Lynne Klippel. She was looking for an uplifting book to help her brother during his ’down’ times while he was undergoing chemotherapy. She thought it would be wonderful to have a collection of stories from ordinary people who have faced challenging times in their life and have come through them with courage, strength and wisdom. Lynne wanted this book to help more people, than just her brother.

Writing a chapter for this book is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I had to put aside my ego and fears (ongoing process!) to publicly write and be willing to ‘let go’ of my insecurities. I have a story to tell about the lessons I am learning from living with my husband’s dementia; I desparately want to share them with others.

I am very proud to be a contributing author to this incredible book. At a time when we are bombarded with bad news–whether it is about the economy or the latest flu virus–this book is going to be the lifesaver for thousands of people. You will find 38 different stories–all of them uplifting, inspiring and giving you hope that you can overcome whatever challenge you are facing in your life.

To give you a sample of one of the stories, here is an excerpt from a very good friend of mine, Barbara McCollough:

When Grace Comes to Get You               
Barbara McCollough  

How can I explain this moment when inspiration broke through in the form of the poem and led me from paralysis into action?

I can’t. Or not in ways the linear mind can report. A teacher once told me that the path to a fulfilling life was like the flight of a two winged bird: one wing was self-effort and the other grace. Without both, a bird won’t fly and neither will our lives. Dogged adherence to effort can take you right into a place you don’t even want to go, yet simply waiting for inspiration without accompanying action leads to paralysis (insightful paralysis perhaps, but still paralysis). It is the true partnership of self-effort and grace—inspired action – that is the secret to success. 

If I were to frame my experience as overcoming an obstacle, perhaps what I overcame was a tendency to let my ego do the driving. I opened myself to that mysterious other force that we all know and describe in our own unique way, that we can never control, but we can always depend upon.

On your path to fulfillment, you don’t have to row upstream, and you don’t have to get in the boat alone