I’ve been coerced into too many things. I blame most of this on one fact: I’m a classic conflict avoider, a professional confrontation dodger. I get that deer-in-a headlights, stomach in my throat feeling when people aren’t happy. It’s bad. So when someone wants to do something emphatically (and I’ve exhausted my dodging tactics) I have a tendency to yield to the “greater good.” I’m a full on Golden Retriever (an S in the DISC model), so conflict avoidance is in my blood. I’m also resistant to change and most comfortable with consistency. So how did I become an adventurous and spontaneous person? I call it the Fountain Phenomenon.
Flash back to the summer of 2010.
Laura, my fellow golden retriever friend Layne, and I had just finished a delicious plate of cheese fries at our hang out: Cafe Brazil. It was getting late (as were most Cafe Brazil outings) and past my bedtime (because I’m truly an old man at heart). I was ready to go home. But then the moment came that would change my perspective on life for the better.
Laura wanted us to jump in a fountain–really really badly.
Needless to say, I was sufficiently coerced, and despite my natural character traits, had one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Once I was completely soaked through, I probably laughed more that night than I had in a long time. That night marked a change in my perspective because I realized that if I lived a safe and comfortable life, I would miss out on the gems that every day life holds. Life is too short to live comfortably, and the fountain helped me take this to heart.
People ask me all the time why we take so many trips, and I think the most honest response would be to soak them in a fountain.
(We found this fountain so influential in our relationship that we took our engagements there too. This was our pre-soaked pose)