Regaining my Moxie!

I've lost a piece of myself over the past six months. Call it what you will - a funk, a depression, a quarter life crisis, I feel like I've lost the part of myself that was fearless. I can't exactly pinpoint why this has happened , but I want my moxie back!



I had a chance to grab a coffee with my new friend Evan this evening. She recently moved here from Denver and is a master at networking and meeting new people. Evan mentioned that she was going on her first date since moving to Colorado. My piece of advice: "use it as an opportunity to learn, to have fun, and to meet someone new rather than worrying if they will like you."



I met my current boyfriend after dating numerous men over a year. He is not at all who I expected to fall in love with... I was used to dating self-involved hipsters with attitude. But this one was different. He treated me with kindness and dignity, but most of all, he was unafraid to be himself. It took me over a year to find someone who made my heart beat out of my chest (a self-proclaimed computer geek at that), but it was when I finally stopped caring about what others on a date thought about me, that I met him. What changed? Instead of trying to impress someone else. I reframed my dating experience. I used every date as an opportunity to meet someone new, learn something new, and ultimately form my own opinions about what I held valuable in others. It took me some time, but I finally realized that dating was really about me. Instead of finding the perfect person, it made me think about my own insecurities, fears, and prejudices. But I think this applies to more than dating - it applies to anything that makes you uncomfortable. It was frightening putting myself out there but when I started looking at it as an opportunity to grow, I did.



My newest challenge to help regain my moxie is to step out of my comfort zone and embrace fear on a weekly basis. In fact, writing this blog could definitely qualify (it can be scary putting yourself out there in cyberspace). This week I plan on going to a kickboxing class on Thursday. It has been over a year since I last put on the gloves, but I'm going to do it. I'm also going to ask for help, a skill I've never been good at, and ask a friend I haven't seen in a couple of months to join me.



So here are some questions for you faithful reader (right now that means I'm directing this question to myself). What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid? Can you do something small today to tackle that fear? Start now! Put the wheels in motion and see what happens. Think about it... what was your reaction? How can you use it as an opportunity to grow?

The ExtraOrdinary Life Starts Here!

Welcome to an extraordinary life. I'm Cara and I'm unabashedly going to admit that I've hit a rut and I'm knee deep in a quarter life crisis. At the ripe old age of 27, I find myself questioning everthing about who I am and who I thought I would be by now. My revelation? I'm living a very ordinary life, but sometimes the extra ordinary is really what makes it extraordinary.

My mission in this blog? Embrace my life as it is... the good, the bad, and the ugly and learn from it. Explore it. Reach deeper into myself and love it. I may be far from the life I dreamed about ten, five, or even two years ago, but perhaps the best is yet to come. Scratch that... perhaps the best is already here and I just haven't taken the time to enjoy it fully. This blog is about appreciating my life every day for what it is... it isn't perfect, but that's the beauty in the extraordinary!