20 November 2012

{On Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone} by Daryl

Today I'm so excited to have the lovely Daryl from {Roots, Wings, and Other Things} filling in for me on the blog!  Daryl currently lives in Germany with her local love Steven, but she just announced the exciting news that they're getting ready to make a permanent move back to the States within the next couple of months.  She's a stunning photographer, avid traveller, style connoisseur and someone who I consider to be a close friend.  On the off-chance that you aren't already familiar with her blog, you should probably mosey on over there after you finish reading this post!


Hi friends! My name is Daryl. I live in Frankfurt, Germany (for now) with the love of my life, Steven. We like adventures and eating a lot. Thanks, Jenna, for having me over on your lovely blog today! 

People ask me quite often what I love about living abroad. I have lots of answers: The food, the constant opportunities for travel, the ability to experience another culture first hand. When I give people these answers, they nod enthusiastically and smile. One answer I've tended to throw out there, however, has inspired some puzzled looks and requests for me to elaborate.

I love the feeling of not understanding what the heck is going on.

I know. I'm weird. When I first arrived in Germany in 2010, I had to figure out where to live, where to buy food and where to go for fun without speaking a word of German. I was lost and confused with no idea what the heck I was doing - and it was the most exhilarating feeling ever.

It's as if the universe was literally just forcing out the control freak in me. No more planning every move - I just had to go with the flow.


I love the feeling of being out of my element completely. When you get out of that comfort zone, magic starts to happen and all of these opportunities you've never dreamed of start to just fall in your lap. It sounds too good to be true, I know, but I'm not making this stuff up.

My German is much better now and I've acclimated to German culture, but I still can't help but giggle a little when I'm standing in a supermarket attempting to read the label on some package and I can't figure out for the life of me what it says. When that happens (and it happens often,) there's nothing to do but smile, shrug, and toss the thing into my cart regardless.

Think of this as a little reminder to get out of your comfort zone. Try new things, put yourself in new situations, be spontaneous. Open yourself up to new opportunities when they come your way and don't get frustrated when you feel lost. We're all figuring this out together.

Thanks for reading - I'd love it if you stopped by my blog and said hello!

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Thanks so much Daryl, I couldn't have said it better myself!

11 comments:

  1. Funny, one of the things I love living abroad is not understanding what's going on either!

    In Canada (on particularly grumpy days) I would find myself in the queue at a grocery shop inwardly rolling my eyes at people loudly talking about this or that celebrity's newest boob job or scandal or other silly things.

    Here in Malta, I know all of that still goes on. But man. Ignorance is bliss!

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  2. I like Daryl already. I will definitely be checking out her blog.

    I think it would be rather free to not know what is going on. You really would have to go with the flow.

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  3. What a great reminder, thanks Daryl and Jenna!
    We get caught up in our hectic lives and we just keep going with the flow - it's always a good idea to try turn around and swim upstream for a while...
    x

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  4. What a cool post - and a cool life! I would love to live abroad for a few years. Such an adventure!
    Isn’t That Charming.

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  5. i feel the same way here in switzerland!

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  6. I agree with you! One of the biggest lessons I have learned from being expatriated to Serbia and then to Belgium - is that you learn the fasted when you are out of your comfort zone. I feel like a stronger person and I hope these are lessons that last a lifetime.
    Thanks for the great post!

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  7. What a lovely little post! Yes, I should probably try to get out of my comfort zone more often! Thanks for sharing Daryl! :)

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  8. Wise words! I will keep them in mind when I set off for my first expat adventure abroad in South Korea!! Thanks Daryl!

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Thanks for the love!