Imagine you are afraid of flying and traveling, yet you do it all the time.
Imagine you are afraid of confrontation and standing your ground, but you are a lawyer.
Imagine you are afraid of public speaking, yet your job requires it regularly.
Imagine you are afraid of heights and still have to walk narrow paths while your partner carries your four-year-old child on their back, wearing flip-flops.
Welcome to my life.
Hi, my name is André, and this is my story.
I am 45 years old and I work as a lawyer. I travel a lot, mostly by plane. And I do not like flying. I also do not really like traveling. Or to be more precise: I like the idea of traveling, but I dislike the unknown. New situations make me nervous. They scare me.
This blog is not about flying or traveling, though those are good examples. It is about fear, insecurity, and especially about the comfort zone. It is about my personal journey, my thoughts, my doubts, my fears and anxieties, and about the attempt to slowly widen my comfort zone.
Traveling and flying are just two of the many situations that trigger these feelings for me. They are simply the first things that came to my mind when I thought about starting this blog. And there is a reason for that.
I am writing these lines in Costa Rica.
To get here, I had to fly. And flying means leaving my comfort zone. It means facing uncertainty, lack of control, unfamiliar places, and unfamiliar situations. Exactly the things that make me uncomfortable.
And that is why this blog exists.
Not because I have everything figured out.
Not because I am fearless.
But because I am not.
This blog is about stepping outside the comfort zone, even when it feels uncomfortable, scary, or exhausting. It is about doing things despite fear. And maybe, over time, learning that the comfort zone can grow.
This is the beginning.