My birthday is next week, and whenever it comes around, I always think about my year and all that has happened. When I think about the last year, uncomfortable is what comes to mind. It was a year that pushed me so far out of my comfort zone.
But...it was also the best year of my life. Funny how that works.
I had a pregnancy that was in no way planned by me. Uncomfortable.
I lived alone for two months while Chris did his away rotations. Uncomfortable.
I signed up to live wherever a random algorithm decided we were going to live. Uncomfortable.
I spent a lot of the year having no idea what the next month, let alone the next year, was going to look like. Uncomfortable.
And plenty of other things. Stuff that I really never saw coming. I'm not one to label entire years like that, but really, the entirety of this one was pretty clearly uncomfortable.
But it was also the best ever.
Having the happiest baby join our family and just fit right in? The best.
Finding out that hard work and sacrifice really does pay off, this time in the form of getting to live in Florida? The best.
Waking up one day and realizing that I am truly in love with my life? The best.
So I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes, life doesn't have to look classically "good" to be the best ever. Sometimes the best life ever comes from being pushed and pulled and spending quite a few days standing anywhere but your comfort zone.
Every year before my birthday, I look at who I am and how that's different than it was last year. I have to say, I really like the version of myself that I became this year. I became more flexible. Less anxious. I became aware of the fact that I can do hard things. I became more open. More vocal. Less of a doormat. I became a mom. I changed in a few big ways and a thousand tiny ones.
I really love this version of my life. I love where my life is right now, and I love where it's headed. And I know that none of that would be the way that it is if I would have had a cushy, comfortable year.
All in all, I think it's a pretty good trade.
What good things have come from being pushed out of your comfort zone?
