Be Brave Enough To Suck At Something New

As we get older, trying new things or being adventurous doesn’t come as naturally as when you were a kid. We reach a stage in our lives where we like to think we somewhat have it together, and that could be why we’re more likely to shy away at doing things we haven’t tried before. There’s a higher chance we’d suck at it, which means you have to check your ego at the door and that isn’t always easy.

I’m what you call a generalist - I have a lot of accumulated skills, though not really an expert at anything. I’m that friend who likes to give things a go and have a long list of eclectic hobbies and curiosities. Sometimes I envy people who pursue one or two things and know everything about them inside out. That’s never been me.

You Oughta Know...How Alanis' Lyrics Described My Life.

Yesterday was Christmas Eve. I woke up early and went for a run before sunrise. In my peripheral I could the sun’s glow climbing over Mokoroa that soon painted the sky a bright lemon pastel with splashes of icy blue. I spent the morning at work - which was really just finishing off a few jobs, eating chocolate, and wishing everyone a Merry Christmas as they left one by one. Then I joined the ‘traffic cues’ and headed home. I spent the 15 minute drive home with a big smile, especially knowing that I’ve dodged the supermarket apocalypse unfolding in the parking lots. After a decent afternoon nap, I mowed the lawns, ate the leftover pizza and had an early night. It felt more like a weekend than a Monday.

The Tipping Point Of Fear

Initially I had great resistance going back into Graphic Design - I had convinced myself that I wanted a career change, and this time round, I’m going to have the perfect job. No more office hours, no more stress, and plenty more time for adventures. Truth is, I’m actually pretty good at it. Here’s the thing, I soon realised that if I wanted a career change or my ‘idealistically’ perfect job, I had to decide what I was first willing to let go. Am I willing to be financially unstable, and have little or no income until I figured out how to pursue it? Am I content living at my parents’ home for the next two, five, or ten years? Ten years? That’s scary!

Don’t Let FOBO (Fear Of Better Options) Keep You Stuck!

If you’ve heard of FOMO (fear of missing out), then FOBO (fear of better options) is in a similar line of thought, with the difference being that you find it hard to make decisions because you think you’re about to sell yourself short. Or if you do make a decision and act on it, there’s a voice in the back of your head second guessing if it was actually the right one.

How can this four letter F word keep us stuck? FOBO can distract us from enjoying the present moment by planting a seed of doubt in our heads and continually second guess ourselves. When I came across FOBO on a friend’s Instagram story, it was exactly what I’ve been feeling since coming back to New Zealand. Even though I’m happy to be back, I wonder if it was the right decision or the safe decision.

"So, What's Next?" What Happens After Coming Home From A Gap Year.

After almost a year of living in Peru, I’m now back in Aotearoa, the land of the long white clouds. “So, what’s next?” Once I had announced that I was coming back to New Zealand, that became the most common question
in my inbox. It’s not surprising really, after all we live in a world where information comes at the nimbleness of our fingers and only hindered by the speed of our internet connections. Life’s biggest questions can often be answered by a six-letter search engine, so why not this one?

The Reality Of Leaving

When you choose to live in another country for an extended period of time, leaving one place for another is something you eventually have to face. One place may offer that sense of adventure, while the other represents familiarity or security - going back to our ‘real lives’ is often a misrepresentation of what the experience gives us. I’ve been living in Peru for almost a year, and when to head back to NZ is something I’ve been torn about. Even though I have a return ticket, I always had the choice to forfeit it if I did want to stay.