Sitting in my shrink's waiting room, I was thumbing through a Psychology Today. I read an article about taking the risk of looking for a new job. I was struck by this quote.

"By leaving your comfort zone and putting your toe in the water, you're stronger no matter what the outcome."

I find this applies to much more than just job hunting. I think it's true for life in general. The Old Me, the pre-medication, pre-therapy, pre-exercise Me; got stuck in complacency all too often. My life was very "Time to make the donuts" in its routine. I was terrified of taking chances or risks.

The New Me is less hesitant of taking risks. Don't think I am completely fearless. Some terrify me greatly, but the above quote is etched in my heart and I know it to be true.

A few months ago I took a risk with D's Ex. As a result, this weekend we got together for brunch (doing brunch seems like such a gay thing to do/say...doesn't it?). It was the first time we've ever spent time together just the two of us. We ended up talking for a couple hours. Somewhere near the beginning I said, "Should we just talk about D and get that over with?" Turns out he didn't know what happened between the two of us. He doesn't see or talk to D much anymore. We went on to talk about music, travel, work, etc. It was a really nice time.

Last night after dinner, Jenn and I were walking back to her car. She told me she's really enjoyed the time we've been spending together recently and wondered out loud why we've waited so long to hang out more.

"It's cause we only recently threw out our rule books."

We had been talking recently about changes we've been making and what it means to redefine your life by not playing by the old rules you get stuck with. Over the last few weeks, I have encountered a number of truly unique and interesting individuals. I would have never met these people if I were playing by my old rules. I wouldn't have had the experiences I've had recently if I stayed safely tucked away in my comfort zone.

Risk vs. Reward. So true.