Wednesday in the park with Mel...

I've just returned from a morning in the park with one of my favorite people. We spent the last couple of hours taking surveys from strangers regarding the community project we're involved in.

In a word... I'm 'Psyched'... Not entirely because of the project and the feedback I received but mostly because I just achieved a monumental fete and that is... Stepping outside of my 'comfort zone.' To most of you, walking up to a perfect stranger and inquiring whether they'd be interested in answering a few questions might seem like a trivial thing. For me however, it's equal to lying in the street and waiting for a car to run me over. Don't get me wrong... I'm a people person... I do enjoy meeting and talking to new people. My big problem is with rejection. I take things far too personally. If someone has negative comments I'll automatically assume they're aimed at me. Then there's the issue that I'm afraid I'll say something stupid and folks will assume I'm an imbecile... I don't think I am, I believe I just spent too many years of my childhood being made to feel that I wasn't very bright and I wouldn't accomplish much in life.

So there I was today... Taking a giant gulp of PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) and jumping in with a big smile and a hearty "Good Morning!" and I found myself saying, "Can I walk with you a moment and ask you a few questions?"... Nobody seemed annoyed with me. In fact I made several people quite excited about our project and that made me feel Great!

So for today I'm quite proud of myself and frankly I'm looking forward to going back out there again next week! Hooray for me and thanks Mel for giving me the opportunity to break through another barrier.