As professional organizers, part of our work is about helping clients learn new habits and skills. We also help them release the unessential to create space for the things, activities, and people that are most important. I do this in my own life and thrive on established routines. I know many of my colleagues do too. However, there is something to be said for having solid habits and alternatively being willing to change things up. When life is chaotic, we tend to crave certainty. So our routines create a stabilizing, comforting force. There are other times when we desire change, yet we aren’t sure what that might be. Possibilities exist, but we don’t know what or how to pursue them. We might feel overwhelmed or stuck.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been writing about the “expanding my universe”  journey. The experiments revolve around me trying new activities. The goal was to create an open environment for discovery, surprises, and possibilities to emerge. It’s been an incredible adventure so far and one that I am excited to continue.

Since I was unclear about what to explore, I began collecting ideas. I continue to add new ones daily. I’ll have to live a long life so that I can try them all. To keep some sense of order and balance, I made a list and organized my ideas into seven categories, including creative, education, event, excursion, mind/body, nature, and not my comfort zone. Having just completed two weeks of doing six experiments from the list, I realized that I choose a different thing to do from each of the six categories, but one.

“Every moment is a chance to note what’s happening inside. Every moment is another step on your tour of discovery.”

— Rohnan Gunatillake

By challenging some of our habits, we make space to expand possibilities to learn and grow. While I had multiple takeaways during the past few weeks of experiences, I’m about to share with you one single discovery made from each of the six experiments. I hope that you’ll feel encouraged to explore something you’ve been thinking about. What is possible?

6 Discoveries That Will Expand Your Possibilities . . .

1. Nature – Loosen the Muscles

My first experiment I wrote about in detail. You can read the full story here. For a quick recap, though, I bought food I don’t regularly eat, from a place I rarely frequent, and ate it outdoors at a park I don’t often visit. My biggest takeaway was this . . .

My habits have, at times, prevented me from experiencing new things. Challenging my choices in even small ways will help me gain new perspectives and stretch my possibility muscles.

2. Excursion – Savor the Pace

I spent a gorgeous fall day at the New York Botanical Garden to visit the spectacular exhibit of the Brazilian landscape designer and artist, Roberto Burle Marx. I’ve been to the garden many times with my husband, Steve. However, on this trip, I went on my own during a weekday. The day was lovely as I walked, photographed, road the trolley, ate lunch, and wandered around the garden store. I moved at my pace, respecting my inner voice as it guided me along. There were no negotiating, rushing, or disrupting of thoughts. My most significant takeaway aside from affirming how much I love being surrounded by beautiful greenery and taking photos was this . . .

Making time to explore by myself at my own pace is just as essential to me as the time I share with my loved ones.

3. Not My Comfort Zone – Navigate Wobbly Paths

I don’t know about you, but for me, wearing a harness while navigating a rope course and jumping off of a 43-foot platform at Spins Hudson was way outside of my comfort zone. I didn’t know what I was capable of until I tried. I wrote about this experience in last week’s post. You can read more about it here.  My biggest takeaway was this . . .

Every day requires a leap of faith. Self-doubts, naysayers, and hardships are part of life. Navigate these wobbly paths by drawing from inner strengths and supportive guides. 

4. Mind/Body – Merge Pursuits

For several years I’ve been hearing good things about Encourage, a newish yoga studio near me. My oldest daughter, Allison, loves practicing yoga and has tried on many occasions to spark my interest in doing it too. We even took a class together in Brooklyn a while back. Decades ago, I did some yoga, but eventually, I stopped. I decided to try it again for one of my experiments. And guess what? I loved it so much that I ended up signing up for additional classes. The teacher and studio owner, Al, is a gentle, calm soul. His teaching combined movement, mindfulness, meditation, humor, and philosophy. This single yoga class connected many of the things I’ve been exploring in the last few years. My biggest takeaway was this . . .

It takes time to connect life’s dots, so keep exploring. Enjoy the serendipitous surprises that arise along the way.

5. Education – Put Love in the Frosting

For those of you that don’t know this about me, I love cupcakes. Partly I like eating them (chocolate/chocolate is my favorite,) but what I also love is decorating them. The more colorful and sparkly, the better. I have many happy memories of baking and decorating cupcakes with our daughters, Allison and Cassie.

Inspired by this passion, for my fifth experiment, I took a cupcake making class at the Institute for Culinary Education (ICE.) The school is located in New York City’s Financial District, across the street from the Freedom Tower. While I enjoyed demystifying how to make buttercream frosting (which has a ton of butter) and learning which ingredients define red velvet cake, the entire experience wasn’t as satisfying as I hoped it would be. There was too much chaos in the kitchen when fending for ingredients and supplies. It made me appreciate the organization and process that I have in my kitchen at home. But what I really missed was that feeling of love, connection, and teamwork that has been integral to baking with our daughters. My surprising takeaway was this . . .

It’s not just about doing. It’s about doing things with love with the people you love.

6. Event – Be Brave

For the sixth adventure, my husband and I attended “What’s Your Story?”  This was a storytelling event at Tompkins Corner Cultural Center in Putnam Valley based on “The Moth” format. Eight people from different walks of life shared a true story about their lives that spoke to the core of who they were. When introducing the program, the moderator, and also one of the storytellers said by “sharing them [the stories], we share ourselves.”

After listening to the performers, Steve and I began reminiscing about our life stories. Which ones were significant? What did we remember? What would we be willing to share at a mike in front of a room full of strangers? How vulnerable would we let ourselves be?  Remind me to tell you about the night of the crazy rabbits. It was a poignant and uplifting evening filled with laughter and tears. My main takeaway was this . . .

What a brave thing it is to put yourself out there, be vulnerable, and share a piece of who you are.

There will be many more experiments to come. Possibilities abound. How they will connect and evolve, I don’t know. But I am excited to see what will transpire in the coming months. What resonated with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

When we try new things, neural pathways and connections are created in the brain. Last week, I wrote about the “expanding my universe” journey. As you may recall, I’m trying some new activities. The purpose of this adventure is to create an environment for inspiring possibilities to surface that I might not have considered or noticed.

As I collected ideas for possible activities to pursue, I organized them into seven categories, including creative, education, event, excursion, mind/body, nature, and not my comfort zone. Some sections, like education, had many ideas. Not my comfort zone, though, had only one, which I opted to try this past week.

“And its in practicing discovery, we feed our ability to create and soulfulness in our lives.”

— Rohnan Gunatillake

When thinking about engaging in something outside of my comfort zone, jumping out of an airplane, eating raw fish, and being submerged in a sensory deprivation tank came to mind. However, those didn’t make it onto my list because frankly right now, they are too far beyond what I’d consider. Instead, I chose to do something outside my zone that merged stretching with reality.

I went to Spins Hudson, an indoor and outdoor rope climbing activity course with my friend, Joanne. Wearing a harness, while clipped to a wire high above the ground, I walked and balanced over a variety of oddly shaped, narrow, and super-wobbly paths. This was a big stretch for me that required focus, faith, endurance, and letting go of fear and negative messages. While the elevated path crossings were physically and emotionally challenging, perhaps my bravest moment was when I took a backward jump to the ground from a 43-foot tall platform with my harness attached to a single rope. Talk about a leap of faith! Literally, that was one.

In doing and engaging in life, there is learning. There is a possibility for expansion and understanding. From my rope course experience, I had several takeaways that I hope you’ll find useful.

5 Ideas to Expand Your Comfort Zone and Possibilities . . .

1. Respect Your Zone

Know where your line is and find ways to push your limits periodically. What is outside the zone for me might be well within your comfort zone. When I described my rope course experience to one of my friends, she thought it sounded like pure fun and something she’d do without any hesitation or fear. However, she said that speaking in front of a big audience, which is enervating for me, is frightening and entirely outside of her comfort zone. 

2. Reframe Your Fear

When I was waiting to begin the rope course, one of the things I quickly noticed was how many negative thoughts were racing through my head. Phrases like,

• “You’re not strong enough.”

• “You’re not brave enough.”

• “Maybe this wasn’t such a smart idea, Linda.”

• “I don’t understand the instructions for hooking and unhooking the clips. I’ll never get this.”

• “What if the clips unfasten?”

• “What if my hands slip?”

• “What if I fall?”

• “What if . . . ?”

I understood that these thoughts weren’t helping me, so I worked on reframing them with more positive messages like,

• “Breathe.”

• “I can do this.”

• “Use my adrenaline and heart-pounding to move forward.”

• “Take one step. Balance. Take the next step. Keep going.”

• “Stay in the moment instead of analyzing it.”

• “Wow! I crossed my first path!”

• “I am strong.”

• “I am walking across my comfort zone.”

3. Understand Your Ground

Doing the rope course made me realize my tendency to gravitate towards safety, security, and that feeling of my feet planted firmly on the ground. But life isn’t always that way. Walking across the wobbling paths, I was indeed on shaky ground. Uncertainty abounded. Would I make it across without falling? Would my grip give way? Every step forward was unsteady. Only stillness settled the movement. But as soon as I shifted even a minuscule amount, the path would move. When I walked from the indoor to outside course, my feet were firmly on the ground. Despite that, my legs felt shaky, my heart was pounding, and the adrenaline was coursing through my body. These sensations felt like the physical manifestations about the uncertainty in life, in embracing change, and in challenging our limits. At the same time, I derived comfort in discovering that we can find our way forward even when the path wobbles. 

4. Appreciate the Pangs

The rope course had me engage muscles in a way that I don’t usually do. It’s been several days since going on the course. When I move in a certain way, I feel a slight ache in my upper arms or wrist. It’s nothing terrible, but just a reminder that I used different muscles in my body. Those pangs are small reminders that I was open to testing the possibilities. I was willing to strengthen and exercise the getting out of my “comfort zone” muscles. This experience will encourage me to be brave and open to other challenges and possibilities.

5. Embrace Support

We don’t walk through life alone. I recognize that I wouldn’t have considered this experiment, let alone to manifest it without support from others. While we often feel as though we can handle life on our own, embracing help can enhance our experiences. I’m grateful to Jane for challenging me, to Joanne for doing the rope course with me, to Eli for teaching me how to navigate the paths, to my family and friends that listened to me recount and make sense of my experience, and to all of you for reading and engaging in the conversation. 

Do you have a comfort zone pushing experience that comes to mind? What possibilities did you notice? What resonates with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

It’s normal to get stuck in life. This can show up in many ways. Sometimes it’s a matter of identifying one tiny next step as a springboard for movement. Taking that small step can be just what’s needed to propel you forward. However, there are times when we desire a significant change, but we haven’t defined it. In those circumstances, that type of stuck makes it more challenging to identify the next step because we lack clarity. If you find yourself in this situation, I have something that can help. Lean into different things success strategy.

Over the next several weeks, set a goal to experiment with trying some new activities you wouldn’t normally do. Alternatively, you can play with things that you regularly engage in but try them differently. The idea is by testing a variety of opportunities, you open your mind to possibilities you might not have considered. As my coach, Jane Pollak encouraged me to do . . .

“Expand your universe in ways that are comfortable.”

She added a crucial qualifier to try at least one thing that is outside of my comfort zone.

I recently had fun with this strategy and found the experiment fascinating. You can design your own experiement and choose activities that interest you. Maybe you’ll hire an organizer to help you with that closet you’ve been struggling to tame. Perhaps you’ll alter your sleep pattern and wake up two hours early to work on your book project you never find time to write. Maybe you’ll take a single class in something you’ve always wanted to learn about like making jewelry, decorating a cake, practicing meditation, or using social media. There are no limits to experimenting. Pay attention to what sparks and excites you. Stay curious.

I’m new to this, but after engaging in just one experience, I understood the value of this exercise. I had a eye-opening first experiment, and am excited to dream-up more. I went to buy a sandwich at a place I often go to. I was planning on eating it by the river in a spot I frequently sit. So far, nothing was different. But after lunch, I decided to take a walk over a local bridge that I usually drive on. It has a spectacular view of the reservoir, and I wanted to experience it slowly on foot.

Things didn’t go as expected.

The sandwich shop was closed, and it never is. Since I had committed to the trying-something-different mindset, I used this as an opportunity to expand my experience. I went to a different food place that I rarely visited and selected a sandwich I would never choose which included hot peppers and artichokes. I accompanied it with a bag of cheddar cheese, horseradish flavored potato chips, which I never ate before. And if that wasn't enough of an experiment, I opted to eat my lunch at a park I rarely go to.

Just to recap, I bought food I don’t usually eat, at a place I rarely go, and brought it to a spot I never frequent. Different, different, and different. You may think this sounds stupid or insignificant. But what I realized is how much I gravitate towards my routines. I like the food I like, and that’s often at the exclusion of trying other foods. I enjoy the places I frequent, which sometimes means that I'm not always motivated to discover other inspiring spots. So it wasn’t just a new sandwich or bag of chips. It was about the significance or willingness to expand what's familiar and comfortable.

I plunked myself down, sandwich and chips in hand, before the Hudson River. I spend a lot of moments near the river. This time, however, I was seeing it from another park, a new vantage point, and perspective. I was struck by how vast the expanse was, how the birdcalls, people noises, and tree rustling sounded unfamiliar. I noticed how quickly my heart was beating as I breathed in this beautifully gracious view of the water.

The undulations of the river moved towards me, mirroring the changes I was sensing within.

I never took my walk over the bridge. I’ll save that adventure for another day. I’m curious about what will arise as I expand my universe one “different thing” at a time.

Have you ever tried this strategy for getting unstuck? Is there another technique you’ve found valuable? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation. 

As a professional organizer, one of the primary aspects of my work is to facilitate change. While helping my clients develop mindset awareness, organize the physical environment, prioritize what is important, or better manage time, it’s easy to become so future-focused that we lose sight of the present moment.  It’s beneficial to combine gratitude for what is with the desire to change things that are no longer working. This may seem contradictory or even impossible. However, practicing mindfulness for the beauty of now can ease the stress that comes from transitions and change. It will also help you create a more authentic, balanced, and successful outcome.

One of the mindfulness teachers that I like is Tara Brach. Her guided meditations, which I enjoy practicing with, are lovely. She often includes poetry during her teachings. One of my favorite poems she shared is one by Wu-Men Huikai. In it, he gracefully combines the value of presence, clarity, and gratitude.

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,

a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. 

If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,

This is the best season of your life.

- Wu-Men Huikai

As you pursue the success that you desire, also notice what is here now. That could include the changing colored leaves, a hug from a loved one, or the sound of their voice. Your success begins with the appreciation of the present, for the moments small and large.

What are you noticing now? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.