And finding your new normal

There’s an advertising agency that I drive by multiple times a day as I cart the kids to and from school. Because I’m a freelance writer, it’s the kind of place where I might be able to get some work. I’ve often thought about contacting them, but never got around to it.

Then yesterday, I decided to leave my comfort zone and take action. I dropped the kids off in the Kiss ‘n Ride, changed into a dressier coat and boots, and parked in front of the agency.

I knocked and an employee came to the door to help me. I said I was looking for the president (and I gave his name which I found on Google). She said she would check if he was in.

He popped out, we chatted for a minute and he gave me his card. I followed up with an email to share my skill set when I got home.

It may amount to nothing, but it may amount to something. And if I hadn’t knocked on that door, it would never have opened for me.

As motivational writer Robin S. Sharma said, “We have a normal. As you move outside of your comfort zone, what was once the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.”

Where does your comfort zone end and what could be your new normal? As American mythologist Joseph Campbell reminds us, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” What are you waiting for?

www.siobhankukolic.com

Photo credit: Oumaima Ben Chebtit

”The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” — Joseph Campbell


Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com on February 24, 2017.

Originally published at medium.com

Author(s)

  • Siobhan Kelleher Kukolic

    Mother-of-three. Freelance writer. Author. #HuffPost blogger. Believer in dreams. www.siobhankukolic.com

    Siobhan Kukolic is a storyteller at heart. She writes to inspire the belief that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see. She recently published her first book, available on Amazon and Indigo. The Treasure You Seek is about following your heart, believing in yourself beyond reason, embracing failure and knowing that you are enough. It includes inspirational stories about famous failures, cultural icons, world leaders and regular folks like you and me. The goal is to remind us that we have all we need to be the change we wish to see. A perfect read for graduates from elementary school through university, people starting their career, changing jobs or retiring, friends going through a medical crisis, new parents, empty nesters and anyone who wants to be inspired. She started her career as a copywriter working on campaigns for organizations including Esso, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Grand & Toy, Labatt, and SC Johnson. While raising her kids, she volunteered as co-chair of her school council for seven years, helped get eight 20-foot maples donated for an eco-classroom and co-ordinated the building of a school peace garden with 115 donated trees and shrubs for Earth Day. She co-founded a not-for-profit movement called Blueberry Shark, named after a healthy fruit and the only animal that doesn't get cancer, with a mission to create the healthiest kids in the world. By providing a voice for those who didn't have one, she rallied enough media attention to help crowd-fund $105,000 in two weeks to pay for an unfunded drug for a mother of two dying of stage-four brain cancer. She also used media attention to nudge the government to change drug coverage policy right before an election and get a $360,000 a year drug covered for a 12-year-old cystic fibrosis patient. Her letters to the editor are frequently published in the National Post and she has represented her neighbourhood by making deputations at city council and the school board. She spends her time blogging, speaking to students and corporations about grit, and juggling the schedules of her three kids as they follow their dreams in competitive Irish dance and ice hockey. www.siobhankukolic.com