I get it so bad that I've become incredibly good at talking myself out of trying new things. My reasons always seem incredibly valid: I don't have the money, I really should spend more time with the dog, I should get a spray tan first, I need to catch up on laundry... the list goes on and on.
So you can imagine my stress levels this past Friday night as I prepared to try not one but TWO new things in the morning.
Prior to officially deciding to quit my job, I had promised myself that I would do a variety of awesome things that I'd always wanted to do. One of these was volunteering at an animal shelter (you can read more about my rescue dog adoption journey at www.mycrazydachshund.blogspot.com) and the other was Yoga.
Lucky for me, the volunteer orientation was on the same day as my first beginners yoga class. This led to a double whammy of anxiety.
I coped with this stress in the best way I know how: by drinking copious amounts of wine and obsessing over what I would wear. Real life.
The next morning, I woke up with a knot in my stomach but forced myself to get ready. I bid a nervous goodbye to my husband and dog and headed for the car. By the grace of all that is holy in this world, I found the Humane Society easily (I have a terrible sense of direction), parked my car, and mustered the courage to ask the first person I saw to point me in the direction of the orientation.
I was greeted by an incredibly friendly volunteer coordinator and thankfully, coffee. I grabbed a seat in the middle of the room and began awkwardly leafing through all of the paperwork I'd been handed.
Soon enough, the presentation started. And before I knew it, I had a huge smile on my face. Wow. I was in a room filled with people who are as passionate about animal rescue and welfare as I am! And this organization has so many beautiful success stories! And they have a barn! And I can volunteer to work in that barn!
By the end of the presentation, I was practically jumping out of my skin. I wanted to go hang out with the dogs or the chickens, or hell, even the lizards ASAP. I seriously can't wait to get started.
By now, I was feeling pretty stoked on life. I was doing what I said I would do and it was turning out to be even better than I had imagined!
Onto yoga!
After circling the poorly marked studio a couple of times (I had to be sure), I walked in.
I marched right up to the front desk, checked myself in, and confidently walked into class. Apparently there are only like 3 people left in this world who don't know how to do yoga, so the class was super tiny.
There goes my plan to hide in the back.
I don't know what I was so scared of. The teacher was super nice and I LOVED Yoga! Oh. Em. Gee. It is so relaxing and it feels great.
I think I'm hooked.
After class, I immediately signed myself up for an unlimited monthly membership.
I went to my second class last night and you know what? It wasn't scary at all. It was awesome! I can't wait to go to my next one tomorrow!
Moral of the story? I need to remember that even though it can be intimidating to try something new, it's kind of the best. It's totally worth pushing through the anxiety.
Now I'm off to a quick stand up paddle boarding session! Yep, another new thing I've started doing.
I like this side of me.
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