What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
Something that made you genuinely scared.
The thing that pushed you most out of your comfort zone.
In around 48 hours, this Friday, I'll be getting on a train, going from Liverpool Lime Street to the Lake District.
Me and my companions will spend the night there, then get up early Saturday morning for a full day of training.
On the Sunday, we jump.
No, I don't mean long jump.
There's no hopping nor skipping involved.
This jump is out of a plane.
We're going SKYDIVING!!!
Crazy right?!
My feelings are that of simultaneous excitement and nervousness.
It almost doesn't feel real yet.
I reckon it might feel a tad more real when we're flying up in that plane.
Or when we start throwing ourselves out of it.
Oh, I'm doing it solo by the way.
There won't be a professional strapped to my back waiting to save me should shit hit the fan.
No-one.
Just me, and a parachute.
I CANNOT F*****G WAIT.
Let me explain.
After the training day on Saturday, we'll be judged if we're sufficiently prepared to activate our own parachute (and the backup should the main one fail).
Safe to say, I'll be paying close attention to everything they teach us.
My (perhaps inexplicable) eagerness is because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to Seek Discomfort.
The adrenaline rush will be unlike anything I've ever experienced before.
Skydiving is often atop many people's bucket lists.
It's something people do on their 30th birthday, usually because they 'always wanted to'.
I doubt many people can say they did it aged eighteen.
What do you think?
Given the opportunity, if someone came up to you in the street right now and asked, would you go skydiving?
I'd confidently say that at least 95% of you would say 'no'.
I want to inspire you to say 'yes' instead!
Of course it's scary.
I'll undoubtedly be terrified when the moment comes to chuck myself into seemingly nothing.
But is it worth it?
You f******g bet it is.
Just imagine, hanging IN THE SKY, your friends circling around you, a picturesque view beneath you.
Wouldn't you feel like the king of the entire world?
Maybe that's just me.
Maybe I'm crazy.
But if you get that tingling feeling in your gut thinking about it, I strongly encourage you to go DO IT.
Skydive.
Bungee jump.
Cliff jump.
Whatever it is, do something that completely shatters the confining limits of your comfort zone. It exists to be broken!
Go check my other blog post here to discover part of the reason I'm so determined to Seek Discomfort.
To discover why, when the opportunity came about, I didn't hesitate to sign up.
Not even for a second.
Something clicked in my brain.
I thought of Yes Theory, of my fellow Aspirer, and of how I needed to turn words into actions.
So there you have it.
Skydiving.
I'm pumped.
Have a great week, and do something that makes you uncomfortable.
And remember: You'll Never Walk Alone.
Until the next time...
Alex (N.Y.A.)
Something Extra
Hey beautiful people.
If you haven't guessed already from some of my other blogs, I LOVE travel.
I also love language learning.
Lately, I've been reading Gary Vaynerchuk's book 'Crushing It!' (a truly amazing read, would highly recommend) and have been impacted by his words about creating something around your passion, or at least around one of them.
I went to bed deep in thought.
What are my biggest passions?
I woke up the next morning with the idea fully formed in my head.
I decided to start an Instagram page based entirely on my travels.
It will also include tips, inspiration and encouragement to learn languages.
In the future, I may start to vlog my adventures, and make a YouTube channel to do so.
But for now, it's just the Instagram.
If it doesn't sound like your sort of thing then no worries - have a great day anyway.
However, if it does, if something clicked just then, then please go ahead and check out my content, give me a follow and interact on my posts.
If you have any questions or stories about travel or learning a language, feel free to DM me and I'll reply as quick as I can!
I'm building a community of like-minded followers.
People keen to explore and see the beauty of the world.
To truly understand other cultures (to which speaking foreign languages is ESSENTIAL).
Does that sound like something you want to be a part of?