It was mid September.
A good friend was visiting the Lake District for a week with her mum. On this particular day, I collected my friend from where she was staying and we drove to the location we’d decided upon for our wild swim.
The journey itself was a whole adventure! My small car wound its way up the mountain pass in second gear. We made it to the National Trust car park and got our things together.
From there, a short walk took us to the mountain tarn. We settled ourselves on a couple of large boulders and looked out at the 360 degree mountain views.
The sun was warm but the water was not!
Though I’d been wild swimming before, I was having second, third and fourth thoughts about this whole thing. It always sounds idyllic until you actually dip a toe in the water!
Determined, my friend changed into her swim things. I followed suit.
She went first, treading carefully over the rocky ground. I watched. I watched as the water hit her ankles. Her calves. Her thighs. Her waist. And then I watched as she boldly dove right in.
“How is it?” I called.
“It’s cold! But really nice!” she called back.
Hmmmmm. Did I really want to put myself through this?
I stepped in. A little deeper. A little deeper. And then…all the way.
Wooooooooooooo.
My skin tingled and fizzled and all the cells in my body woke up and were like…woah, what is she doing???
We were swimming!
There was still a slight sense of fear but aliveness, freedom and possibility coursed through my veins. Oh what it was to be in that place, in that water, with my friend, surrounded by the mountains!
We made our way back to the shore, towelled off, dressed and ate lunch.
“I wish I hadn’t gone in”, I said to my friend.
Ha ha, JUST KIDDING! Because you know what no one says, ever, after they just do something outside their comfort zone?
I wish I hadn’t bothered.
Instead they say:
Wow, that was amazing!
Ooof, that was hard, but I feel SO good!
I want to do it again!
I haven’t felt this alive in ages!
Thank you for making me do this!
I need to get out of my comfort zone more often!
Because doing new things – things outside of your comfort zone – is LIFE. And do you know why it gives you a feeling of life? Because it’s growth. And growth is life.
When we’re growing, we feel alive. When we’re not, we don’t.
And to grow, we have to get uncomfortable. We have to step outside the ‘zone’ that we usually stay inside. We have to take some kind of action that’s out of the ordinary for us. When we do, we’re rewarded with a sense of growth, which equates to a feeling of being alive.
Remember when you were little and succeeded at something new for the first time? Remember the powerful joy of “I did it!”?
Hark! A new year will soon be upon us. How will you get outside your cosy comfort zone in 2025? And what might your life look like at this time next year if you committed to regular uncomfortable action in an area you’d most like to grow?
Let me know in the comments below so I can cheer you on, and other people can cheer you on, too.
And remember, it doesn’t have to be ‘big’ to make a big difference in your life. If it’s outside of your current comfort zone, that’s what matters.
Love and courage,
Leah