When did you last push beyond your 'comfort zone?'

I think the last time I did this was when I went on a cruise and much to my surprise the entire room, bathroom and all wasn't much bigger than my small bedroom. With 2 beds in it, it was quite a crunch. I just tried to make the best of it, but next time I would insist on having my own room instead of sharing with friend.

When I applied for my job. I was offered it months before and did not have the courage to apply. I then called and applied and got the job. I was officially hired the day I was offered the job but was afraid to ask. I am now working 45 hours a month and loving it.

That happened to me TODAY!! My husband and I were given free tickets to the Biltmore Estate. For those who do not know what that is, it is the Vanderbilt home in Asheville, NC. It is the largest home in the United States, built back in 1893. It is an amazing place but we don't put a lot of stock in material things, rich peoples homes or things like that. We're just down to earth folks. We had no idea what to expect. We felt we HAD to go because they tickets were graciously given to us for free by one of his staff memebers. My husband and I are the least likely to go anywhere if there is going to be a crowd. We'd rather go hiking or riding bikes. We are around people all week long. We got up and went to church and headed for the Biltmore Estate. When we got there, we could not find parking anywhere. . . we drove around till we found a spot. Then, we walked and walked until we got to the amazing, and I mean AMAZING mansion. But. . . there were 5000 people there!! It was SO cold outside today, and the wind was gusting at abuot 20 miles per hour and more than that once in awhile. We went to the counter and found that today was a 'timed visit' day, which meant we had to be assigned a specific time to tour. It was 12:00, our time ended up being 2:30! So, we decided to go into the 'Stable' area that has all the touristy gift shops. When we went into the aread where these were, it was WALL to WALL people. I mean, shoulders rubbing. It was aweful. We went into one store and it was so packed with people, I started to have an anxiety attack and had to get out of there. I just cannot be trapped like that in a room full of people. We ended up going to the car and waiting for our tour time. Then, as it came close to the time to tour the house, I got really anxious about being trapped in a line of people touring. I started feeling like just telling my husband to tour the house without me. I was totally out of my comfort zone. We got in line and as we waited, I heard someone asking the man about the tour, he said it was self guided and about 1.5 hours. I felt more relieved about that being self guided. I figured that meant that if I started feeling a panic attack, I could just get out of there. But, I made it through, and it was good. I'm not sure I'd do it again, but I was definitely out of my comfort zone all day, between the touristy atmosphere, the packed gift shops and the 1000's of people I had to rub shoulders with. YUK!!! I love my mountain town and my open space!!!