Diving in, embracing life!

What do you believe in?

I believe in possibilities! I believe in dreams, love, chivalry and honor! I believe in God and in the beauty of life! Lastly, as crazy as this may sound, I also believe in magic!

Hahaha…weird noh? Well, it’s true! Life becomes magical if you choose to live in the moment – to fully embrace its daily blessings – and this was the challenge that I gave myself just recently.

How did I start this challenge? Well, as an introvert, I am guilty of living inside my mind. Yup, put me in a room full of people and you will find me sitting at the corner…quietly talking to myself.

It was time for the introvert to be an extrovert.

Now, don’t get me wrong! There’s nothing bad about being an introvert. However, I began to feel that my tendency to be on my own, building social barriers has caused me to miss out from fully embracing everything that life has to offer.

It was time to nurture my inner extrovert! So, I decided to leave my natural habitat.

Yup, if you take a look at the picture above, I clearly was not pleased with this self imposed challenge. My space = My comfort zone! But it was time to grow. It was time for me to challenge myself and actively start reaching out to people. Hahahaha…it was time to socialize and the introverted me dreaded the first few steps!

However, things began to change as I slowly started to crawl out of my shell. I discovered myself more. Most importantly, I discovered a hidden gift that I never would have known had I chosen to stay within my comfort zone.

What was this gift? It was public speaking.

Honestly, as someone who prefers to talk to herself, I never thought that I could speak in front of a crowd because I was an introvert. This was a label that I carried since I was young.

Labels, they are powerful aren’t they? They can build and they can also destroy.

All my life, I called myself an introvert. I’m an introvert, I like to introspect. I’m an introvert, I like my personal space. I’m an introvert, I’m not good with people. I’m an introvert, socializing drains me.

Though there is nothing wrong with being an introvert, I was using this label to hide from the world. I was using it as an excuse to stay away from people and I became a prisoner of my own making.

What happens when you become a prisoner? You are shut out from the world. Prevented from fully embracing life.

Ultimately it was what happened to me but now, I have decided to step out of my self-imposed prison.

To start living the life that I had imagined.

It has only been a few months since I made the decision to dive deep and embrace life but the changes that it has brought into my life is amazing. It was magical!

However, it wasn’t easy. It was filled with many awkward stumbles and social gaffes but hey! That’s what it means to grow right? It was just amazing that during this vulnerable period of growth, I was surrounded by positive people who supported this change in me. Family and friends, even colleagues.

They were blessings.

They were reminders that wherever you go, God is with you and His overflowing love will always find ways to enter into your life.

Is there something that you want to do? Don’t be afraid to pursue it but here’s a tip: say a little prayer before taking that first step.

After offering that little prayer to God don’t be afraid to go, dream and do!