Take The Plunge

Just Jump

I love watching my children play. They don't think about what 'might happen.' They don't worry about things- they just do it. Take my five year old, Cody. When he saw that large pile of sand being dumped in the front yard at the farm, he didn't think about the sticker weeds that lined the beach, or the rocks hidden in the sand. He didn't think that he could sprain an ankle, or otherwise hurt himself- he JUST JUMPED. Last night, while watching the neighbors' set off their fireworks, he would slowly creep up to them, and I would keep calling him back. He didn't think about getting burned, or whether or not the large noises would hurt his hearing- he just thought 'those are cool' and went to look at them.

When he sees someone doing something that he thinks is cool- he doesn't stop and consider the consequences. Instead, he just watches how something is done and then he does it. We could learn a lot from him.

As adults, we spend so much time weighing the pros and cons of anything that we do. Do we splurge and buy the latest kit from our favorite designer, or do we hold off for one more paycheck? Should we stop for gas now, and can we wait until we reach our destination? Do we take the kids to the zoo even though the weather report says '30 percent chance of rain', even though there isn't a cloud in the sky? Do we hit Walmart at 3 in the afternoon, since we're in town, or do we make a second trip at midnight so that we don't have to stand in line (but we end up using twice the gas that we would have if we had gone at 3? Do we try some new technique or element that we see popping up in layouts all over the internet or do we stick to what we know- and are comfortable with?

While we feel best in our comfort zones, they can be dangerous. By sticking to what we are comfortable with, we run the risk of basically creating the same layout over and over again- we don't challenge ourselves to think of something new and unique. Eventually, we get stuck in a rut- and get bored with our hobby.

What I don't understand is how people can buy idea books, magazines, e-zines, and so on, and still create the same style layout over and over. These publications publish layouts for a reason- to give their readers IDEAS, to show them something new and different, to allow us the chance to step outside our comfort zone and do something different.

There is no guarantee that you'll like the new technique- just like there was no guarantee that my five year wouldn't land on his ankle wrong and sprain it when he jumped off that pile of sand. And the beauty of stepping outside your comfort zone is that you don't have to like the technique! You don't have to get it right the first time! It's a learning experience- you can either attempt to learn more about it, or you can decide that technique just isn't for you (but don't let 'failure' lead you to think that stepping outside your comfort zone is a bad idea- it never is).