Moving outside the comfort zone

Are you a risk-taker? Or do you stay safely inside your sphere of comfort? There's no right or wrong answer to that, so be honest with yourself.

I have taken several risks in my life but I don't consider myself a risk-taker. I'm not about to take a zip-line so I can sail through space over gulches and through trees in Haleakala, Hawaii. Nor am I about to go white-water rafting down the Colorado River. Those are way outside my comfort zone.

There are risks, and there are risks! What one person thinks is courage, another may not. Risk is whatever scares you. Simply putting yourself out there in front of others is frightening to most people. In fact, the number one fear is public speaking. Yet many people do it—and think nothing of it.

Recently I read about a man who has lived with a facial difference—and yet he is a public speaker, entertainer, stand-up comic and an inspirational speaker. Many praise David Roche for his inspiring story and his courage. He took something that would have kept most people in the background and used it as a strength. What a risk-taker. As his website says, "You'll remember more than his face. He'll open your eyes. He'll touch your heart."

Roche has the courage to be authentic and to dig deep to use a challenge as a strength. Perhaps he'll inspire you, as he does me, to step outside your comfort zone to do something you've long wanted to do. Come on, shall we try something courageous this week?