Paradigm shifts tend to come more from venturing way outside my comfort zone as of late. 

Previously, all I had to do was immerse myself on reading books that discussed the mysteries of human nature. 

I think there's a huge difference between a mind expansion and an eye opener, the latter is more sticky, in the sense that it fundamentally alters how you perceive rather than just what you know. 

It's not that impossible for the mind to contract again after expanding into theoretical understandings that never touch lived experience. 

Although I consider myself an ambivert, I'm still more introverted than extroverted. 

Sometimes, I take sleep by surprise, so to speak, and do something that my conscious mind deems completely out of character.

A recent case in point is visiting a regional buzzing market with a loved one as a tag along. 

When we arrived at the place, an extended family member had a canteen that she couldn't operate at that time because a fever was creeping into her system.

Without any thinking process behind it or an emotional pulse check, I offered to be the operator of the canteen for the day. 

Both of them were surprised mostly because they couldn't create a mental image of me being a canteen operator, given my previously expressed discomfort in crowded, fast-paced settings. 

![](https://images.pexels.com/photos/264905/pexels-photo-264905.jpeg)
[Image Source](https://www.pexels.com/photo/warrior-bobblehead-264905/)

Once I learnt the basics of the job, I went on to wear an apron and put on a hat and I think that was when the paradigm shift began. 

## Drained And Energized 
I think the process of putting on these physical markers of a different identity must've triggered it and I found myself thrust into a whole different world that's eerily comfortable despite its unfamiliarity.

This marketplace experience has me rethinking the state of my own social life, which is subpar when measured against the unexpected human warmth I felt serving others. 

It was somewhat a revelation to me that layers of my personality I rarely access can thrive in environments I've deliberately avoided. 

For instance, some of the simple exchanges with customers—their smiles, thanks, and brief conversations—created an atmosphere of mutual recognition that transcended our transactional roles that I could tap into without the overthinking that typically paralyzes my social interactions. 

Beyond practical items I needed to wear for the job at hand, I think the apron and hat also served as a permission slip to behave differently. 

In donning the uniform of a server, I was largely freed from the constraints of my usual social hesitancy, which looking back now, seemed to be largely based on assumptions about myself that weren't entirely accurate. 

Most surprising was how energized and drained I felt at day's end. I couldn't understand at first why the social mathematics I'd always work on had suddenly yielded different results. 

Being drained yet energized at the same time was almost like a new feeling to me. 

Not that I'm suddenly a certified extrovert, but my understanding of my own social self-perception and assumptions definitely require some revisions.

I wonder now about other roles I might step into, other "aprons" I might wear, and what paradigm shifts I might experience.
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*Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.*