Comfortable being Uncomfortable

Years ago I heard a teacher say, "you need to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable." I had one of those experiences today. People always tell me how well I relate to new people and situations. Today I visited my local Rotary Meeting to find out more about the organization and to introduce myself to the powers that be. Rotary is sending me to Australia and they said it would be good to meet the people we'll be representing.

When I got to the meeting I introduced myself to the acting president. Next thing you know, I was on the agenda and talking to a room full of 60+ business leaders. I'll admit the heart was beating fast for a moment, but once I got to the front of the room and was handed the microphone, things changed. I was truly comfortable being uncomfortable. I took my own advice. I talked with a co-worker earlier in the day about how to speak to a group of people. All of a sudden all those words of "wisdom" came to me. I also saw this as a new challenge and preparation for my trip to Australia. I"ll be speaking to groups like this everyday for a month.

Before I knew it my time was done. I had introduced myself to a room full of strangers, I had fully explained why I was there and what the trip to Australia was about, and I answered several questions from the group. After the meeting/luncheon was over, I had several people come up and congratulate me and tell me how well I speak infront of a group. I was invited to come back and speak longer. I was also asked to do some speaking for some other groups. Never let them see you sweat..a few minutes before things started I was nervous and had no clue what I was going to say, but I took a deep breath and the rest is history.

Today was a great experience, but it also shows what my teacher told me years ago..."be comfortable being uncomfortable." We're always going to be put into new and sometimes nerve racking experiences. The main thing to do is, to take the new situation as a personal challenge, tackle it and build upon it. You can also relate back to a past experience you tackled. I definitely know I can go into a room a strangers and perform on the spot. Live is all about living and experiences. Some of these things might be uncomfortable, but you'll have some great stories to share if you tackle them!