In it for the Long Run

wellness | intuition | curiosity

What I Ate Wednesday: Surprise Yourself

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Humans, man, we’re freakin’ weird. Total walking contradictions of ourselves. We’re our own little Yin and Yang all in one. I’ll give you an example: I freaking love surprises. I love being scared, I love being shocked, I love the idea of someone being able to hide something from me, to pull of an elaborate surprise. To me, it’s the nicest thing someone could do for someone else. That’s weird in itself right? I like the idea that someone would run around and lie to me so they could jump out of a cake and yell surprise, but hey, it is what it is.

But at the same time, I equally love ruining surprises for myself. I can almost always guess what  a gift will be, or guess whatever someone’s “big news” is. I can usually tell when something feels different in the air. As a result, there really isn’t much that ever surprises me.

Breakfast

Raspberry Banana Spinach Vega Sport Protein Coconut Milk Smoothie

In it 4 the Long Run

Coffee

Ethiopian Pour Over

In it 4 the Long Run

Maybe it comes from having that super charming personality trait where I think I’m always right. Like I can’t fathom someone hiding something from me, because I would just know. Don’t you just hate those people. I do, because they usually think they’re right when really I’m right. I’m kidding. I do try to reel it in most of the time. However, when it comes to the fun little conversations with myself I often think I know best.

But if I had to pick a theme for 2016, so far on this lovely April 24th, it would be:

Surprise Yourself.

In it 4 the Long Run

At the ripe old age of 23 I often think I know best, especially when it comes to knowing myself.

  • I’m not good at small talk
  • I won’t meet new people on Nantucket
  • I can’t wake up early to run before work
  • I won’t have new experiences in my hometown
  • I can’t do this
  • I won’t do that
  • I shouldn’t go here
  • I’m not XYZ
  • The list goes on

But there’s a small voice in the back of my head that whispers, “just surprise yourself.” And with an open mind I can actually see the opportunities to prove myself wrong. Of course, a piece of me, the stubborn side, loses a bet I’ve made about myself, but a bigger piece of me, the side that craves growth, wins.

Each new friend I’ve made, experience I’ve had, belief I’ve disproved is an expansion of my universe.

Lunch

Quest bar & a spicy lemonade

In it 4 the Long Run

Snack

Avocado Toast

In it 4 the Long Run

Dinner

Leftover Zoodles with Spicy Almond Butter Sauce

In it 4 the Long Run

I’m honestly shocked how many negative beliefs I’ve held onto for so long. They never felt toxic as they formed, but once I let go of each preconceived notion about how things “should happen” or are “supposed to” be I feel lighter and more connected to a person I really enjoy being.

It’s like an “oh shit” moment when you realize, wait a second… if that belief about myself wasn’t really true, and that lie I told myself about myself wasn’t true, then maybe I can do that thing that I’ve always secretly wanted to do. Like, I don’t know, be my own boss, travel the world, connect with amazing humans.

So before I get too far off in woo-woo land as I tend to go, I’ll leave you with this simple challenge: Surprise Yourself.

Your Turn:

  • Do you like surprised?
  • Have you ever surprised yourself about a belief you had?
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This is such a great message for middle of the week! I can totally relate to having notions about myself of what I will and will not do… love the idea of wanting to surprise myself in trying something new!

  2. This was a fantastic read, Georgie! I fall into the “I’ve never been able to make small talk so this event/meetup/coffee date will be awkward AF” trap. I think this is a great message for people to hear – thanks for this!

  4. Even though you are a lot younger then me, we have very similar characteristics…Your list is very very similar to mine! HAHA! Get ready for lots of Chocolate Nuttzo coming your way today! XOXO

  7. I’m the same way with surprises. While I really enjoy them, I pick up on little details easily and usually ruin them for myself (ex: my own proposal). But I try to focus on the fact that the person put a lot of effort into trying to do something for me and appreciate that.

    Btw, the zoodles with the spicy peanut sauce looks SO good. Might have to add that to our meal list for next week.

  8. I am not a huge fan of surprises simply because I like to plan and know what’s going on. Then again I’m always thrilled by happy surprises. I guess in a Goldilocks world, I’d like to have a timeframe (week, month, whatever) when I knew a good surprise was coming so I could be excited in anticipation and also not worried about not knowing, but then also be taken by surprise on the actual day!

  9. I love surprising other people, but I’d rather not be surprised. It’s so weird! I’m also totally with you on “no new experiences in my hometown”. I’ve never had any interest in living in my hometown after college or even raising a family there, even though it’s a great place. I just have this mindset of plant my roots in a new place.

    And spicy lemonade? I neeeed that

  10. I also love surprises but I do this weird thing that I get all hyped up thinking and expecting I’m being surprised and then when it turns out I’m not, I get weirdly disappointed haha. I love this post though. We all have things about ourselves that we believe, but I totally agree with you that it’s important to not get stuck in them.

  11. Loveee this. I have totally been surprising myself lately, especially because my life has always been hearing that negative voice loud and clear.

  12. You should write a book. I’d be the first in line to buy it! I LOVE surprises and I agree that I think it’s one of the nicest things a person can do for someone else. For example, surprise birthday parties. I’ve ALWAYS wanted someone to throw me one, and that hasn’t happened yet, but my birthday is in a week so….;) Anywho, I think surprising yourself is such an important part of life!

  13. One of the biggest things I struggled with for a while was, ‘How could God love a person like me to save me from my sins?’ The more I read my Bible and realized that God didn’t love me for anything in me, just because He loved me, the more unconditional love started to take on this beautiful, new meaning. And it really surprised me and just warmed my soul.

    I love this post Georgie, because it really gets us to think, to step out of our comfort zones in faith and believe in the impossible, because with God nothing is impossible! Keep Surprising yourself Georgie and keep sharing what you’re learning! We are all so blessed to learn from you and be part of your journey.

    • Emily, thank you as always for your truly thoughtful comments. They make my day. You’re so insightful. Believing in something we can’t see can be so scary but it’s where the magic happens.

  14. This is awesome! Kind what I needed to hear at the moment! Moving from one side of the world hasn’t been easy, nor has it been easy making friends when you’re unemployed! So I sometimes think that I’m never going to go out and meet people, or I can’t do this or that !! But the other day I joined the local Australian Football League & we had our first game and I went along not sure what to expect, but found some amazing people that I met and remembered how awesome it was to get out of your comfort zone!

    • Ahh that sounds amazing Georgie – I’m so happy for you. Having moved a lot recently I can totally relate to feeling isolated and having trouble finding new friends (when you just want to be around your old friends)

  16. so much yes to this – i had so many limiting beliefs of myself…all based on me being too shy. For some reason that changed for me when I had kids. 🙂 love this post!

  17. For me, as I get older, when I am open enough to let go of long standing views, that is a freeing lightening feeling for me. I like to surprise myself by laughing with myself, not at me, when I do something silly & somewhat harmless especially in the company of unexpected people (like work colleagues, etc)- it’s humbling, & humility is good. Thanks for sharing your refreshing outlook-

  18. THIS. I made it my mission to grab life by the balls and say yes more starting in the middle of this month and I’ve been so surprised by the things I’ve accomplished. Little things like shooting multiple recipes in a day or big things like saying yes to speaking in from of a bunch of people (which is way out of my comfort zone). I thought I’d be scared shitless through it all since I’m so introverted, but I’ve just been ridiculously excited by all the possibilities 😀

  19. Ah, lovely post! Nice surprises are nice!
    One huge preconceived negative belief I had since childhood was that I wasn’t able to do sporty/active things – in PE, I was the last to be picked for teams, in cross country running I was at the back with a very overweight girl and a girl with much worse asthma than me. Then about 4 years ago I did the Couch to 5k running plan and was completely shocked to find I CAN do it. Now I love to run and go to the gym lots and friends tell me they could never do what I do because they aren’t that kind of active person – but that’s what I thought too!
    It is difficult to decide and make the leap to try and do things and change your mindset though – I still need to work on my small talk skills etc.