Snow-Shoeing Out of the Comfort Zone

1 Sep 2019

Greg is out of breath. He stops for a moment to catch his breath and watches it condense into fog midair. The altitude certainly isn’t helping, but the real culprits here are the unwieldy contraptions attached to his feet. Greg is snowshoeing the Mount Tallac trail near Lake Tahoe. It’s his first time snowshoeing and it’s a very new sensation he’s experiencing. The deep snow beneath his feet barely yield a crunch as he steps upon it, seemingly defying gravity. This magic is not without effort though, and he struggles to keep his balance with the new dimensions his feet have taken on.

But Greg relishes the opportunity to step out of his normal (no pun intended.) He understands that there is insight and fresh outlooks to be gained by approaching a hike differently. As someone once said, “If you want something to change… try something different.”

Basic, yes, but true. The reward of deliberately choosing change is instant perspective shift. Greg’s snowshoeing adventure granted him access to terrain and inspiration that he could never have seen if he hadn’t been willing to try something new. Trying something new is rarely effortless, because it requires the use of muscles different from the ones we’re used to exercising. But the effort always pays off in new growth and strength.

As he goes, Greg feels his equilibrium beginning to recalibrate, and he marvels at the incredible mountain scape before him. A view that could never have been possible without his new snowshoes.

The same is true with the creative process. It can be so easy to get stuck in the mud of formulas and routines. Inspiration dries up without intentional change ups. We can never hope to grow within our comfort zone.

Playing off the rule book is key to Radar’s philosophy. We aren’t afraid to go off the beaten track and try on some “new shoes” so to speak. The goal is always to deliver exactly what our clients are needing and we know sometimes that requires stepping off the beaten path.

This post is the fourteenth of a multi-part blog series, “The Camping Creative,” tying together the tent-pegs of camping and creativity. Read the first post here.