My 10 Year Challenge
In just 10 years, I’m a different person because I dared to be different, I dared to seek discomfort.
I debated whether I wanted to join in on this 10 year challenge; but when I woke up this morning, I decided it would be the best way I could think of to explain how I’ve grown as a person since I left college at Virginia Tech just 10 years ago.
My 10 year challenge story starts really starts 11 years, 11 months and 6 days ago on February 13th, 2007. I remember the date specifically because it was the day I flew from Washington D.C. to Australia, off on a new adventure to study abroad in Melbourne. This is the day my world changed forever, and it changed for the better.
Have you heard the Steve Job’s quote about connecting the dots? Well all the dots for my life really connect back here to this day; to the start of this experience in a new country and on a new continent.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” — Steve Jobs
That trip was everything for me, or really that 6 month experience was everything for me. It was huge highs, it was crazy lows, and it opened my mind up to so many new things. I met new people, I had new adventures, and I went to new places like I had never done before, at the age of 22 years old.
The moment I landed in a new continent
You would think that the excitement of landing in Melbourne would be the most incredible moment of my life up to that point. I had spent 3 years dreaming of this day, I had always wanted to study abroad and I talked about it constantly, with everyone.
But until I was actually there, in that moment, I had no idea what it was going to feel like; and the reality was that I was terrified. This was the farthest I had ever pushed myself outside my comfort zone. I was 14,000 miles aways from all of my family and all of my friends in Virginia. I didn’t know anyone.
I freaked out.
I barely knew where to go, what to do, or how to deal with this situation. Now remember, I’m in Australia where they speak English and I’m in Melbourne which is a very modern city. It wasn’t like I was dropped in the middle of South America or Africa without the ability to communicate and no running water.
No, it was a place with shopping malls, and trains and buildings like I had never seen before, and I had no idea what to do with myself. Nobody was telling me what to do or where to be, I was there on my own and it was terrifying.
I grew up in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and went to school in Blacksburg, Virginia. Australia is probably one of the countries that is the most similar to the United States, but it was foreign for me and I wanted out.
Those first few days where filled with anxiety
From the moment I landed, I had a rush of anxiety come over me. I’m not even sure I knew what anxiety was at the time, but I knew I was not happy. I didn’t have a cell phone, my parents were 14,000 miles away and 12 hours ahead, and I was a poor college student.
I had never felt so much discomfort in my whole life. But my parents really stepped in to help in those first few days. They got me a hotel room to make me feel comfortable for a couple nights. They helped me reach out to the counselor at Victoria University who helped me get through the complete culture and experience shock, and they helped me calm down so I could start living this new experience.
It took about 2 weeks to finally settle down and start to feel comfortable. I almost got on a plane a few times and my Dad almost got on a flight to Australia. But I made it through, I embraced the discomfort and became more comfortable. And then the experience of a lifetime started.
I started to make friends, I started to have new experiences, and I started to grow as a person. I had to take the train to school rather than walk across campus. I had to live in a building with people from all over the world, people that taught me so many new things.
I got to go on adventures, I got to have fun, I got to live. I met some fantastic friends like Jaime and Susie. We took trips. We went to Sydney, on a 12 hour train, through the desert.
We saw giraffes in Taronga Zoo, we explored darling harbor, we swam at Bondi Beach. We looked right and saw all the things life should be.
That 6 month experience came with many more ups and downs that I will save for future blog posts. But it was really the dot I can look back on in my life where I truly can say I started to seek discomfort. I started to push myself to do things I had never done and live in a way I never had, because
“If you want something you’ve never had
You must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” — Thomas Jefferson
And I’m a a better person today because of it.
11 years later, just a few months ago. Susie and I sat down at a tavern in Boston and relived that experience together over a beer. Despite the fact that I had not see her in almost 10 years, it felt like it was yesterday. This is a bond for life, and it never would have happened if I had not dared to try and push myself outside of my comfort zone.
So what do you want for your next 10 year challenge? What story are you going to write for yourself by pushing your boundaries and seeking discomfort?
If you want to learn about seeking discomfort and join an inspiring community of people, be sure to join my Facebook group called Those That Inspire. We are a like-minded community of doers that help each other succeed in business and in life; and we have a lot of fun at the same time. You can find out more about the group and our current 90 Day Content Challenge by clicking on the links.
