If you tend toward order in you daily actions, experiment with the expressive chaos and imbalance. If you are generally impulsive in your habitual ways, focus for a wile on orderly and calculated movements. Try to access unfamiliar roles. There is tremendous energy in whatever is antithetical to the norm.
— Shaun McNiff in Trust the Process: An Artist’s Guide to Letting Go

Have you ever noticed this? That sometimes, when you do something that is opposite to your normal routine or nature, you get a burst of energy. While it can be uncomfortable, it can also be fun and liberating.

It takes a bit of a reminder at times, a push to get out of our comfort zones. The participants in my Find Your Eye: Journey of Recognition class are doing it right now, so this quote resonated when I read it today.

And it made me think. Have I been outside of my comfort zone lately? Maybe a little. This expansive landscape shot is different than my usual city scene. But it’s not that far out of my comfort zone. Not really. I need to challenge myself to step out a bit further to get that boost of energy that comes from trying something new.

How about you? Have you stepped outside of your comfort zone lately?