Uncomfortable February: Reflections & Lessons

Eleanor Roosevelt once said:

“Do one thing every day that scares you.”

I had heard this quote before, thinking it made perfect sense. But the thought of actually taking action never crossed my mind until this past January.

I was feeling stuck despite the fact that on paper, life was great. I had recently moved into a guest house that had everything I wanted. I had finally completed furnishing the space; the last boxes unpacked. I was promoted at work. Things were good.

Yet I felt like I was floating through life. Like it was happening to me.

In early January, a conversation with a friend about Roosevelt’s quote planted the seed: in February, I would embark on a month-long quest to do something every day that scared me. Something that made me uncomfortable in some way.

I had a couple of ideas for these challenges and opted to reached out to my readers for more suggestions. And they delivered. Over eighty ideas were submitted, ranging from silly to nearly-terrifying. I sorted and ranked ideas based first on level of discomfort, and then by level of time commitment (Could it be done any time, like talking to strangers? Or would it require planning, like painting a canvas?).