How to Rediscover What You Already Know

I recently moved to a new apartment.  I hated the whole thing.  First, I didn’t want to leave my old apartment – I had lived there for years, loved the building, loved the location, knew many people in it that I liked, and loved my view.  Then there was the packing up the place that was fairly traumatic, and then un-making the whole life I had made there.

The first week in my new apartment I was pretty sad.  New place, new neighbors, new surroundings to adjust to.  And I didn’t even move that far!  Yet, ANY move is still tearing up the life you’ve settled in to, and creating a new one.  And that’s when I realized that I had been so comfortable in my old apartment that I didn’t bother leaving it much.  I didn’t go out and appreciate my neighborhood, I just exited the subway, walked upstairs, and lived in my apartment.

The sun rises on New York City

When you move to a new city, what do you do?  Most likely, you spend a fair amount of time at the beginning discovering local restaurants, bars, and hangouts.  You try to meet new people, and you’re open to opportunities.  So, I decided to treat my move to a new place, that’s not really a new neighborhood at all, as if it was a brand new city.  Each week, I have committed to go to at least one place I’ve never been before.  I go alone, I eat at the bar, and I challenge myself to meet at least one new person.  Some may become new friends, some could be potential opportunities for business, and still others might just be a lovely conversation for the evening, and some have offered a connection to another new place I have never been.

What I’ve learned is that it’s far too easy to become complacent in a way of being, or a place, or even a business strategy.  We stretch our comfort zone to discover something new, and then it becomes comfortable, and we tend to hang out in the comfort, rather than step out into the unknown.  So, my move has offered me the wonderful mind stretching opportunity to realize there is a hell of a lot I don’t know about places I thought I knew everything about.  It’s also made me explore what I feel comfortable with, and challenge myself to get uncomfortable, and for that I am very grateful!