‘My Senior Gap Year: Learning how to step outside my comfort zone’

On my senior gap year a couple years ago (back in the olden days when we could freely backpack around the world), I lived by this motto: If it felt uncomfortable do it. It was not about taking high risks, but more about stepping out of my comfort zone.

I was recently faced with this challenge when visiting my daughter and family in Darwin. They gave me a gift I wasn’t sure I wanted. It required some level of skill. Unfortunately, a skill I hadn’t used in 45 years. It felt uncomfortable.

It was a day’s dirt bike riding with my son-in-law on motorbikes around the Darwin hinterland. Of course, there was a high level of apprehension. Unlike my 20s I consider myself now more in the preservation stage of life. More seeking experiences than pursuing adventurous risks. I figured it would be a success, if not a huge relief if I could just make it back in one piece or, at best, unscathed. It didn’t help though when my brother-in-law asked if I had updated my will!

To be honest, if it was my choice, I wouldn’t have given this activity a second thought. But it was now more than just a gift. It was a personal challenge. As much a challenge of dealing with fear. The thought of all the things that could go wrong.

I was reminded when my son asked me on my senior gap year to go spear fishing with him. If it was my choice, I would have been quite comfortable in the safety of the boat. Sometimes though we all need a bit of a nudge out of our comfort zone.

Without question, the safest way to live is to stay where you feel comfortable. However, there’s something exhilarating, when you step into the unfamiliar, out of your comfort zone. Where there’s a certain feeling of stress. Particularly in this preservation stage of life. To then cautiously and steadily use that stress to build your level of confidence. Whether it was spearfishing amongst the unknown below the surface or now managing to stay unscathed after a day on a motorbike in the Top End tropics.

As the day progressed from the dusty to the monsoon drenched muddy trails in the rural outskirts of Darwin, so did my confidence. I started to recall how back in my 20s I would throw my trail bike from side to side as I raced through forest trails. I may now have been far short of this youthful level, but making it back at the end of a long day with only a minor graze, the feeling was indeed exhilarating.

According to Tim Walker, owner of Bike You and who took us on this adventure, that’s the most satisfying part of his business. Seeing the glow of confidence from people who take on the challenge of stepping outside of their comfort zone. The positive emotional difference he has seen in people who just need that bit of confidence building achievement in their lives.

Who would have thought a motor bike could do that?