Get Out Of The Zone

Recently I shouted down the oh-so-persuasive voices in my head and forced myself to do something that was out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and am so glad I talked myself into it. I find as I get older, the figurative overstuffed La-Z-Boy that is my designated comfort zone is harder and harder to climb out of. Okay, yeah, it's literal, too.

All kinds of studies have shown the mental, physical, and social benefits of varying your routine. When we are young, this is pretty much unavoidable because just about everything you do is new to you. Those things you try that you enjoy, you tend to repeat, and therein lies the slippery slope to Routineville. As we age, not only are there fewer things we haven't tried; the I Can Do Anything I Want freedom of adulthood is often squandered when doing Anything morphs into doing the same thing, over and over again. The girl who dared try the high dive and got her ears pierced - twice each! - becomes the woman whose idea of living dangerously is ordering Taco Bell's #2 lunch combo instead of old trusty #1. Folks, that is one lap away from the human version of the dog that has worn a dusty path in the grass precisely 18 inches inside the perimeter of the back yard fence.

Venturing outside the comfort zone represents risk. Often there is more at stake than getting a soft taco instead of crunchy with your combo meal.  For example, consider all of the people unfortunate enough to get stuck on the Poop Cruise. Imagine those who were taking their first cruise. No doubt some were outside their comfort zone but had finally decided to take the plunge and were feeling pretty good about it. Ocean breezes, midnight buffets, chocolate fountains - what could go wrong? Poop Cruise was certainly not a disaster of Titanic proportions, but both experiences probably put a lot of people off cruising for life. Still, this is not something you could anticipate happening (at least prior to it happening- now you can!). Some activities, after you sign the waivers, come with a t-shirt that says MORON.

I was not always so resistant to the temptation to try somewhat risky new things. A couple of times in my ignorant youth, I took advantage of the opportunity to go up in small planes with friends. Once was with a college friend who was taking flying lessons. Her instructor was with us. The second time was on a date with a guy. No one else was with us. Both times we landed safely. Aside from 30 seconds of terror during the flying lesson when they were practicing coming out of a stall (without preparing me beforehand, thanks ever so much), I never felt unsafe. However, now I see online an alarming number of fatal accidents in 'homemade' aircraft, most while flown by experienced pilots. Folks, I don't care how much experience you have flying. If the words 'homemade', 'kit', or 'DIY' are associated with the make/model of the plane, I'm calling a cab.

Never since seeing the movie Jaws have I had any interest in cage diving, but I understand the movie had the opposite effect on some folks and cage diving to get up close and personal with sharks is a thing. Yep, sounds stupid to me, too, but apparently plenty of people get their adrenaline rush this way. The companies who offer this service have loads of literature attesting to their 100% safety record, strength of the cages, blah blah blah. But sometimes the cage structure may be the least of your worries. One cage diving boat didn't even make it far enough test the veracity of their own propaganda. They arrived in 'Shark Alley' and prepared for a fun-filled day lowering human-sized canapes into frigid ocean water alongside toothsome two-thousand-pound carnivores. Alas, a rogue wave capsized their boat before anyone could say 'zip my wetsuit'. Everybody into the pool, indeed. Several were injured. Three died. Could have been worse, but other boats were in the vicinity and scooped up the shark snacks before the sharks heard the dinner bell ring.

Now you know I can't wrap this up without a few words about skydiving. When I was young and stupid, I had skydiving on my list. Back then we didn't call it a 'bucket list', but that's basically what it was, a list of things I wanted to try. When you're young, you don't add the depressing phrase 'before I die' because when you are young and stupid, death is not on your radar. See Jackass or YouTube for proof of this.

Anyway, most of these things were not things I was particularly interested in. I just wanted to try them to enjoy the effect it would have on other people when I casually mentioned I had done this thing or that thing. Yes, to make me look cool. Ack.

I never got around to skydiving and after I had a couple of kids, I wised up and crossed it off the list. I figured if I was going to die doing something stupid, at least it should be something I want to do rather than something I was doing to impress other people. I know lots of people enjoy this hobby safely, but when something goes wrong, it goes wrong in a big way. Proof: tell me which of these phrases gives you the greatest feeling of unease:

1) malfunction

2) freak updraft

3) failure

4) caught on camera

5) accidental

For those who selected 4, I feel your pain. Now try the exercise again when each phrase appears in an article about skydiving. The correct answer is All Of The Above.

Sheesh. I really don't want to be granny about trying new things, but after writing this, I have just about talked myself out of everything. That combination zipline/bungee jump/polar bear tracking junket in the Arctic I just bought on Groupon is out of the question. Instead, I will throw caution to the winds and ask for the extra hot salsa - with my trusty Combo #1, natch.

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