Going Back to My Original Plan…

In the “About Me” section, I described why I started a blog.  Well, I have to put my original idea into action. In my head, the idea of reaching out, filling my life with new ideas and experiences, and sharing these adventures was great!  In my head, everything comes about so smoothly and easily. Then reality starts to kick in. I admit that I am a little nervous about putting myself out there. Once I post my idea on a Facebook page, what will happen?  Will I embarrass myself? Will I be ignored? Will people say, “I love your idea!” but nothing comes of it? (How often do you and your friends intend to make plans but they never materialize?) No one likes to feel like a fool.  

By nature, I tend to be more on the shy side.  I have made a concerted effort over the years to move beyond that, and I am glad that I did.  (This will likely be a work in progress for a long time.) I feel as though I am gradually building more positive relationships with a wider range of people because of it.   Nevertheless, there is still a bit of anxiety about acting on an idea. This holds true in so many situations. There is always the balancing of risks and benefits. In this current situation, I have to ask myself, “What is the worst that really could happen?”   (I previously wrote about learning to use power tools. Doing that without guidance can lead to bodily harm. This is different.) Where will stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying to open a new door lead? Surely, the proverbial door may get jammed, or it may open out to a view of a brick wall.  I can guarantee myself, though, that once I open up this new door, I won’t be sucked into the vacuum of space or fall into a fiery pit. I may, legitimately, open the door to a new adventure, big or small. They all count; any and all can have value in the end.

The following is what I will very soon “Copy and Paste” into the world of a Facebook group and by doing so, open myself up to the unknown:

“Happy New Year!  I am hoping that some of you can help me with my new hobby for the year.  I have decided that instead of focusing on learning one task or skill really well this year, I would try to see, learn, and experience a lot of new ideas, activities, projects, and events.  Like most of you, I do not have an endless supply of time and money. What we do all have is a great community full of wonderful, very knowledgeable and interesting people. I am hoping that you can share your knowledge and skills with me.  I am open to learning just about anything and everything. I am interested in everything from learning a better way to doing a household task to trying a new recipe, learning a new craft, understanding how to fix a plumbing problem, improving my level of fitness, playing a new game, etc.  I like to say, “If it isn’t illegal, immoral, or blatantly stupid, I am willing to give it a try!” Whether your knowledge is based on your hobbies, career, or is just something you happen to know and do well, if you can share it with me, I would love to learn! The “bonus” part of my plan is that I hope to get to meet and know more members of this fantastic community. I acknowledge that my idea/plan has not been fully “fleshed out,”  but if I were to wait until reaching that point, I might never get started. I/We will figure this out as we go. I will plan to share (with each individual’s permission, of course) my adventures with you all as well. For that purpose, I just started putting together a blog (it has not yet been launched) thinking that it can be a better way to share my experiences with those who are interested. Please let me know in a response to this post or via a personal message if you would like to do this with me.  If so, we can see if we can make it happen! (I hope to do this all year, not just in January. This hopefully will allow for a wide variety of experiences together.) Thank you!”

On January 9, 2019 at 1:10 pm, I posted the above message on Facebook and let out a big sigh (not sure if it was a sigh of relief or anxiety).  Now I wait…