Have you ever been invited to do something fun, but you hesitated and said “NO” — Why did you say no? What’s that about?
Maybe because I’m getting older I find I feel like saying no because it’s outside my comfort zone.
I am trying to be more adventuresome and not say no to things. I want to continue to try new sports. Last month I participated in a terrain race. Definitely not in my comfort zone.
Last week a friend of mine invited me to go kayaking. She has two kayaks, with the floatation devices (AKA lifejackets), paddles, and a clever waterproof pack for valuables that will float if the boat gets flipped.
She did all the work getting them loaded into the back of her truck and getting everything ready. All I had to do was show up!
So why did I feel like hesitating? Probably because I didn’t have much experience kayaking.
When I was a teenager, I used to play on little sailboats, (Sunfish and Sailfish boats mostly) and I was almost fearless. I was very confident. Somewhere I left that Chris behind. Since I really didn’t have much experience maneuvering a kayak, I was coming up with reasons why not instead of saying yes. And although, I have used a canoe before (maybe 3 times), I have never tried kayaking or paddle boarding.
Guess What?? It was so much fun!
We kayaked by putting the boats in at an inlet of a lake called Mogadore Reservoir. There were lots of inlets with trees woods and wildlife. The sun was shining and there were lots of birds flying around. I’m not sure if they were blue herons or some type of loon.
The water was high (but not too high like the river walk I wrote about last week) and the lake was very cold. Just little ripples of wind showed up on the surface of the lake, no waves. In fact, in some places, it was downright hot on the water. I believe that the air temperature got up to 91 degrees, but it wasn’t too bad out on the lake when I’d dip the paddle in the water and let it run down my arm a little to cool off! So glad that I had the sunscreen on and I wore a baseball cap to help shade my face.
After my initial hesitation, my feelings turned into relaxation and enjoyment. What a fun way to spend a few hours on a sunny afternoon. I’m so glad I said YES!! I have to remember that it’s a fun thing to say yes! I’m definitely going kayaking again and I would recommend it to other women over 50 who are looking for a little bit of adventure outside their comfort zone.
I am trying to remember to try new things and not be too hard on myself for feeling hesitant.
About Kayaking
Kayaking has become a popular sport popular water sport. It seems like it has surpassed went windsurfing and sailboating, but is probably rivaled by paddleboarding. Canoeing has been popular for many many years. Kayaks are great for floating down the river (as long as the river isn’t too high!) or exploring the nooks and crannies of a lake nearby lake.
While I don’t have any statistics about how many kayaks have been sold in the last 5 years, it seems like this is a sport that is gaining momentum.
According to a report from the outdoor foundation.org posted on the American Canoe Association website, in 2017, 49% of the US population participated at least once in some sort of outdoor activity during 2017.
WOW! Half of the people in the US. Wow, that seems like a lot. But take a look at page 11 of the report. After age 50 how much that drops off. And outdoor activities for women crosses indoor activities at around age 20. Interesting. No surprise that the report said that the Outdoor Foundation says that walking, hiking and running are the most popular outdoor activities in the USA.
How about you? What new sports are you trying? Or thinking about trying? What seems too scary or outside your comfort zone to try? Leave a message below or call our voice mail at 330-970-6662 to leave a voice message. Let us know if it is okay to add you to an upcoming podcast.
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