This post was written in October 2013 for a Communications class assignment. I decided to post it here as well since I always enjoy re-reading some of my older articles. Enjoy!

What matters to me is to develop myself by doing things that are out of my comfort zone. I try to take away any lesson that an experience provides me, and how I could take that lesson and co-create it into something even better than what I’ve originally set or thought of. Being open to new experiences allows you to emerge creatively into the moment. In the long-term, this type of mindset would allow you to trust yourself in doing the right thing regardless of how unfamiliar the situation might be.

A similar experience happened to me around the end of September of 2013. It all started on a sunny afternoon in downtown-Ottawa. I was running some errands when I decided to take a walk towards a nearby park. I was feeling very adventurous that day and decided to do something that, although very simple, was something that I’ve never done before. I wanted to approach the first attractive girl I see and tell her that she looks really nice. I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Accomplishing this simple-sounding task is not only one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but also one of the most life-changing experiences I’ve ever had.

As I was walking towards the park, an attractive girl passes by, and I thought, “here is my chance!”. At this point, a part of my brain was making up a billion excuses to not do what I was about to do. I remembered someone telling me about how our brains are geniuses at making up excuses to not take action. As soon as I started thinking about what I was going to say to her, I realized that there was no way in hell I was ever going to approach her unless I completely shut my thoughts off and immerse myself in the situation.

I run, stop right in front of her, and say “hey, this is kind of random, but you look really nice today!”. To my surprise, she responded very positively! In a nutshell, she’s from Toronto and was planning on leaving the evening after. Since she didn’t know anyone in Ottawa, we ended up spending the entire day/night together. We had an extremely memorable and amazing experience. To this day, we still keep in contact and are excited to see each other soon.

My point is, if this completely random one-in-a-million experience taught me anything, it was this: Endless Possibilities. How many amazing moments did I miss because I decided for one reason or another, to not take action, and to not be open to new experiences?

I decided to do something that came from a completely genuine and authentic part of myself. This experience really nailed the idea of “be and stay true to yourself”. Living up to other people’s standards can only give you a temporary fix of fulfillment, but it will not give you a realistic sense of accomplishment. This experience has led me to become a much more positive and confident person. It’s funny because if I had to list all the people that made an impact in my life, despite spending less than 24 hours with her, she would be at the top.

These are the kind of experiences that I live for.

Update: We actually ended up scheduling a weekend get-together almost a year after our last meet-up! Good times are good.

Follow me @Marwanalshafei where I spark rainbows within people’s subconscious and make the world go round n’ round.