All my life, I have firmly believed in getting out of my comfort zone as often as I can.
I used to be really good at it when I was in my 20s and 30s - jumping out of an aeroplane to write a story for the Australian Women's Weekly on the arrival of tandem parachuting in Australia, doing aerobatics in a glider with the World Champion Glider pilot at Camden in Sydney's south west, flying in a small plane all around Central Queensland and landing on Great Keppel Island for a day of swimming and snorkelling - you name it, I wanted to try it.
But as you get older, you tend to not be quite so adventurous which I have decided is not going to work for me. I have made a conscious decision to keep doing activities and challenge myself whenever I can.
In 2015, I summited Mount Kilimanjaro and in 2017, I trekked to Everest Base Camp, two things I thought I would never do.
Well, I have just finished a six-week stint doing something I've always wanted to do and let me tell you, I was challenged every single day and it got me so far out of my comfort zone I continually asked myself what on earth I was doing.
You see, I love cooking. I love everything to do with recipes, cooking shows, meals, food, wine - love it, love it, love it.
So when an opportunity opened up for me to run the commercial kitchen at a hotel we own in country NSW while we looked for a new chef, I jumped at the chance to have a go.
Six weeks later, we have found a new chef thankfully, as it was indeed one of the hardest things I have done.
I am glad I did it - it definitely took me out of my comfort zone and challenged me - but I have a totally new respect for ANYONE who manages a commercial kitchen in ANY restaurant, hotel, pub, cafe...it is a very difficult and largely thankless job that has long hours, needs multiple skill sets and is definitely not for me.
Not sure what my next challenge will be but watch this space!