Living Life in a Bubble

Have you ever found yourself on social media comparing your life to everyone else's life?

There's that friend who married their high school sweetheart with three kids, the party goer who's always at every social event. Then there are those people who never left their hometown who never really post a whole lot. But my favourite to follow is that friend who is travelling the world, living life to the fullest, taking every opportunity that comes their way.

We scroll through and envy people and their lives. We always want what we don't have but we don't really do a whole lot to go after what we want. We settle because that is what is easiest. We stick with what is comfortable. We stay in our bubble.

Our bubble is what's comfortable. It's what we have learned, it's the known. We all have our own bubble. Everyone's is different, it's formed by our life experiences. It's easy to stay in, but difficult to go past. Every time we do something new we step outside of it and as we become comfortable with it, it gets absorbed into the bubble and our bubble becomes just a little bit bigger. Eventually, our bubble will become big enough that we will no longer feel limited by it.

People naturally look up to people with bigger bubbles than them. They aspire to be like them, they are amazed or simply intrigued because they live a different life from them. However, very few people take the steps to live outside of their own bubble and experience all the amazing things the world has to offer.

So, I'm here to tell you it's not as scary as it sounds. If you can imagine it it's possible. Your life is limited to your own imagination. If you never step outside of your bubble you will never live your dreams. We are only scared because of the unknown. But, there's something amazing out there. It's this thing called Google. Google has the answers to virtually every problem you come up with. If you know how to use it, it can help solve this problem of the unknown which everyone is so scared of.

For instance, people come up to me and tell me that they could never travel alone and that I'm so brave. I don't see myself as brave, I just see myself as someone who is observant, can think logically and knows how to google things.

This past spring I took a train for the first time. I didn't know how it worked, I was stepping outside of my bubble, I was nervous. So, I used some logic. I thought back on past experiences. I asked myself what knowledge I already had that could help me. I had been to bus stations and airports before I thought surely those experiences could help me. I've also seen movies and I knew someone who has taken a train before. So I asked questions beforehand to get a general idea. I went to google street view ahead of time so I could familiarize myself with the surroundings. Then, when I was at the train station I was observant. I looked and realized there was a screen with departures. I listened and realized they announced important information. My fears were beginning to ease. The next thing I did was watch what other people were doing. When everyone went outside, so did I. I let people ahead of me in line so I could see the process to know what to expect. Finally, I clarified with an employee to ensure I was boarding the correct train.

See, it's not that difficult when you break it down. You slowly look for details, you listen attentively, and you ask questions when needed. This can be applied to any new thing you do in life. The best part of all, the next time you go to do the same thing or something similar it will be easier. It will become apart of your bubble. You will be that much closer to living the life you want to live.

So, here is my challenge to you. Think of something you've never done before but really want to do. Break it down step by step how you're going to achieve it. Know that you are capable of achieving any small step along the way. Understand that every small step is a building block to the big picture. As you conquer each step your bubble will grow. Most importantly, remember to be proud of how far you have come.