A great example of someone who really stepped out of his comfort zone and tried something new is Chandler. For the first eight seasons of the series, Chandler works in an office at un unspecified company, first as a Data Processor. He clearly despises this job and decides to quit during the first season when his boss offers him a promotion. His reasoning is that if he were to take the promotion, "it would be like admitting that's actually what I do." However, his boss calls to offer him a generous raise and Chandler eventually agrees to take the job as Processing Supervisor. He keeps this job for the next seven years, although it is a running joke on the show that no one actually knows what Chandler does.
When Chanler's job transfers him to Tulsa and requires him to spend Christmas there, he figures out that he would rather be spending time with his wife and friends, so he decides to quit for good. However, this presents him with a serious challenge as he "doesn't know what to do with [his] life anymore." Monica helps him consider possible career choices and he decides that he wants to pursue a job in advertising, something that he's never done before. He ends up having a real talent for it and becomes a Junior Advertising Copywriter.
Because of his willingness to step outside of his comfort zone and try something new, Chandler was able to find a job that he was passionate about and actually enjoyed doing.
However, as we learned last week, things don't always work out for the best, but that doesn't mean you still shouldn't try them! Sometimes you have to risk failure in order to discover something amazing. That being said, sometimes all you discover is that you should never try to make a trifle ever, ever again.
In another Thanksgiving-themed example, Rachel decides to do something that she doesn't often attempt: cook. For Thanksgiving dinner, she tells everyone that she's going to be in charge of making the desert, an english trifle that she found the recipe for in a magazine. However, two of the magazine pages stick together and she ends up making half of a trifle and half of a shepherd's pie.
Her friends are gracious about it and eat the trifle anyway, but Rachel eventually learns that the dessert, in the words of Ross, "tastes like feet."
Even though it might not always be a success, I still really believe that it's important to try new things. You may not get the result that you were looking for, but I can guarantee that you by branching out, you will always learn something about yourself, whether it's your talent for coming up with advertising slogans for everyday objects or your inability to make a trifle.
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I just finished Friends on Netflix(again) and still feel a giant hole in my heart. Anyway, this is such a great post and I always love reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteI love the theme of this post. Trying new things is always a great thing. I'm very indecisive so I don't have many preferences so I'm always up to trying new things.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing