There's Always Something to Learn

 "What did you think?" my husband asked as we left the gym. It was my first day going to the gym after months of my husband and son trying to talk me into it. 

"I'm not a fan," I responded quickly. It was true; I wasn't a fan. There were so many machines. I had no idea what to do with any of them. 

As soon as the words popped out of my mouth, I regretted them. I hadn't really given the place a chance. I thought a bit about it, it felt a little closed-minded. Why was I so quick to judge the place negatively? It was one day, after all. As I questioned myself, I knew it was because I didn't really feel comfortable there as I didn't know how to navigate all the spaces. 

What to do? It would have been easiest not to go back. 

As I tossed it around, however, I knew the truth: I'd already built my own wall - and I needed to find a way over it.

Navigating Outside Our Comfort Zone

I love to learn, but I stay in my learning bubble digging deeper into the same ideas and activities time and again. I decided I needed to think about going to the gym like I think about studying poetry or learning a new skill. I needed a plan. Thankfully, I had grabbed the gym's calendar on my way out. I decided I'd give this gym thing a chance, took a deep breath, and signed up for the overview class for my next visit.

On the day of the class, the instructor took me to all of the gym spaces and explained their purpose. I've been running on a treadmill for a while now; it is my current favorite space. As we worked our way around the gym, I discovered some of my old favorite machines were nearby and learned about a few new ones I might like to try. The instructor told me about other classes they offered. 

As I left, I knew I already liked the place a little more. 

Keep Learning

Since the gym offered classes for the different sections, I decided to take a class every two weeks until I had made it all the way around. That would give me a few weeks to learn about the new space before the next class. It now seemed very doable. 

Of course, you didn't stop by to read about my gym experience. The point is: this is part of living an "in progress" life. We have to dig into the hard parts, to lean into new learning when the opportunity arises. It's very easy to get comfortable in the paths we've walked time and again, yet there's so much more to see if we stay open to possibility. 

And there's always something to learn.