I haven’t taken a poll or anything but I’m reasonably confident in saying people are afraid of trying new things. I use this conversation with my husband as evidence:
Me: I really kind of HATE doing new things
Him: Me too, I just wouldn’t do it
There’s comfort in the familiar. There’s fear, anxiety, discomfort and uncertainty in the unknown. No wonder we avoid it
New places, new experiences, new food, new people, it’s all scary and intimidating.
There is comfort in the familiar. But at this point I have learned the value of discomfort.
This brings me to where I am now, sitting on a bar stool in Woodstock, NY to listen to a singer I really like. I’m alone and I’m writing this because I feel like a doofus sitting here with no one to talk to but my phone screen.
I am uncomfortable. But I’m sitting here in my discomfort knowing that I’ll survive it, that next time doing something new will come a little easier, that it’s only ever a short walk from something scary and unfamiliar to something you love.
Don’t avoid things for fear of doing something new, all you’re really doing is making your world smaller and scarier. Go find the uncomfortable, make it home, then you can be comfortable anywhere.