I’m trucking along with the “Explore” resolutions.
Went skiing yesterday, and I have the photos to prove it.
I start aikido tomorrow night. I know it’s at East High School (where they filmed High School Musical and subsequent sequels, apparently), but I don’t know where in East High School it is. Maybe I’ll make a phone call tomorrow and try to find out.
I think what I hadn’t banked on was how much this “doing new things” would trigger my anxiety. I’m really, really on edge since skiing yesterday. I couldn’t even focus on reading last night.
I remember doing a temperament assessment as part of my daughter’s and my preschool class (it was a parent-participation preschool in Palo Alto) when she was around 18 months old. When I got the results, my daughter scored “Moderately Slow” in General Adaptability. Given her reticence in social situations, that made sense to me. But I remember thinking that, given my enjoyment of frequently relocating, I must be pretty adaptable.
Now, witnessing my persistent anxiety around yesterday’s adventure, I have to wonder if I pegged my own Adaptability wrong.
There’s something to be said for going outside of one’s comfort zone. I think that, while it can cause short-term discomfort, it can also lead to great personal growth. What’s not clear to me is where the line is between healthy and growth-promoting stress and unhealthy and mental health-degrading stress.
In other words, I’m considering not going dancing this month.
Imperfect Happiness 