Doing One Crazy Thing Every Year

There's a quote I love by Eleanor Roosevelt that says "you gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'"

If you're reading this, then I'm sure at some point in your life, you did something that put you outside of your comfort zone - and had to overcome fear.

I remember when I was younger, every time I'd see a roller-coaster like the ones at Wonderland, my stomach would just collapse. I was not a fan, and frankly still don't love them. But what I do enjoy is the ability to overcome something that I feel is holding me back. And that is fear - a build up of unforeseen expectations gone wrong in my head that prevents me from putting myself out there because of something that MAY happen.

I enjoyed the feeling of overcoming fear because it started giving me confidence in other areas of life. Every time I'd feel the same sense of nervousness or hesitation, I'd have an opposite reaction of excitement and calmness (because I've almost conditioned myself to get more comfortable with the unknown, and doing something that I didn't have control over/or know the outcome of).

That's why I decided to do one crazy thing every year. It wasn't planned, I didn't journal or reflect much on it...it almost just started happening because I enjoyed the experiences and it was a cool thing for me to look forward to every year.

I started with sky diving in Dubai. Voluntarily throwing myself out of a plane flying at 15,000 feet over the palms of Dubai was awesome. It was crazy, considering my cousin's wedding was the day after (my reason for being in Dubai in the first place), but it was still awesome. Check it out:

This past year, I decided to snorkel with whales in Newfoundland. I literally went there during a long weekend, pretty much just to snorkel with whales (aside from also hiking and seeing the beautiful scenery the Province had to offer). I was always a comfortable swimmer and hold a diving certification with PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors), but nothing could have prepared me for an experience like this one.

I went in July, where I thought that the water would be somewhat warm given that it is summer...but I was really mistaken. The water temperature was a nice 5 degrees and I froze my butt off. Even with a dry suit on, it was extremely cold (because water would still come into the suit). The speed boat took us almost 30 minutes off-shore into the deeper ends of the Atlantic Ocean, where we then sat and patiently waited for signs of Whales. Once we spotted one, the divers had to put their gear on and get ready to exit. Let me just say, it really is not the most welcoming entrance when you know in the back of your mind how cold the water is, and the fact that a 30,000 kg whale is underneath you in very dark waters. But that's exactly the 'hesitation' I'm talking about. Once I got into the water, it was an un-describable experience. Even though it was so cold I could barely breathe and the anticipation of seeing the whale overtook my nervousness, once the whole thing was over it just made me feel invincible. It made me feel like there wasn't anything in this world I couldn't tackle head on.

That's the feeling I hope you experience as well. And this is why I wanted to share this article with you, because I really feel like it's game changing.

Now, keep in mind - my 'crazy' doesn't have to be your 'crazy'. One of the years, my crazy thing was enrolling in a creative writing class at the University of Toronto. It still put me outside of my comfort zone, and learned a lot from it. The point is to:

1) Challenge yourself: do something you know will make you uncomfortable. If you choose something too easy, something you know without a doubt you can do, you won't feel the same sense of accomplishment and fulfillment (in my opinion).

2) Get excited: yes, it's crazy - but that's why you should get more excited about it! Just keep thinking about the experience itself and how you're going to feel when you get it done and check it off of your bucket list. Think about how many cool stories you'll have which you can share with people. It's meant to be fun.

3) Don't let other people hold you back: countless times, people called me crazy for wanting to do these things. I listened, respectfully, but it still didn't stop me. I understand the difference between doing something crazy (to the average person) and being stupid/putting my life at risk. But for many people doing something like skydiving is totally insane, and to others it's a full-time job. Adjust your perspective, lock down on what YOU want to tackle, and just go do it. Who knows, your friends might eventually join in.

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I won't say what I have planned for this year, but it will involve sharks :P