One of our sayings at New Moon Ideas is “if we’re not scaring you, we’re not doing our job”. We will always provide options that encourage our clients to step out of their comfort zones and embrace new, wild ideas because that’s what you need to cut through the marketing noise sometimes.
We remind ourselves of this scary mantra as a Halloween tradition. This year our team decided to practice what we preach and challenged ourselves to have some fun facing a fear that might be deemed silly by anyone else. As it turns out, we each had something embarrassing so we’re sharing with you too!
SUSAN
The speakers blast the chilling sound of a piano hitting a simple run of notes over and over. Nothing but blackness, a glowing pumpkin and a few actors’ names appear on a solid dark background for a run of what seems like many minutes. The movie has begun. I’m already scared.
Blanket on. Then off. It’s a beautiful, stunning autumn afternoon. Why do I need a blanket? Not for warmth. I put the blanket to the side, but within reach, just in case I need it for security. The movie starts. Halloween. The original 1978 version. A person is lurking outside of a house, watching what the people are doing inside. Unaware, the couple goes upstairs and our soon-to-be sadistic killer, Michael Myers, goes inside (through an open back door – why was it wide open)? Oh, so many questions in the first 10 minutes of the movie, but I digress and chalk it up to the 70’s. For me, it’s not the blood and gore. It’s the intentional baiting, relentless stalking, and psychological trauma. Mama no like.
I lasted 43 minutes! That’s 33 minutes longer than I thought I would. I was stratospheres outside of my comfort zone, which is hilarious because I LOVE riding the largest, fastest rollercoasters, I’ve jumped out of a plane, and even let a blind guy drive me around town. But today, I met some that scares me head on. I got uncomfortable. And then I left.
DAHLIA
I’ve done some adrenaline-pumping things in my life – former MMA fighter, lover of hanging off cliffs over the ocean and spinning out in a good Canadian snowstorm, but nothing makes my palms sweat like the risk of parallel parking. I choose destinations based on the parking situation. Best restaurant in the city but no parking? Hard pass. I am the captain of the “hike 5 km to avoid parallel parking” team, it does not matter about the weather or the footwear.
I recognize that this is ridiculous and unnecessary so, in the spirit of scaring myself, I challenged myself to parallel park for the first time since drivers ed. I watched countless Youtube videos, read tips online, sweated through many shirts, and got panicky talking about it but somehow, I hyped myself up enough to get in the car. I practiced in a parking lot until the thought of trying it for real didn’t put my stomach in knots. Then I drove around the neighborhood for longer than I care to admit looking for the perfect opportunity to test my new skill, and Friends... I DID IT! Rocked it on the first try and squealed with excitement so loud people must have thought there was an animal outside. I’m happy that I faced this fear and while this won’t be my go-to parking move anytime soon, I will be sure to parallel more than once every ten years.
NAVIN
By nature, I enjoy rattling my cage once in a while to keep things fresh and exciting – I'll do almost anything for a good story when the moment hits. So, it took a while to think of what scares me somewhere between phobia and silly. The darkness of a sensory deprivation tank? Sign me up. The adrenaline of sky-diving? That’s just paying to jump out of a plane, no thanks – only if it’s on fire.
Then I thought, what experience leaves a bad taste in my mouth? Simple answer – I loathe salmon. It gives me that gag reflex no matter the preparation. Over the years I’ve given it a shot with a bite from home-made recipes to five-star restaurants that were promised to be “the best salmon you’ll ever have” which quickly followed with a tight-lipped grin and forced swallow as fast as possible to not offend the maker. For the sake of this Halloween challenge, I took one for the team while donning my salmon coloured hoodie as mindful motivation and I have to say, it wasn’t that bad! To be fair I ate very fast but I did eat my full portion so gold star to this guy. I can’t promise this fish is going to be a regular thing, maybe just once a year when I need to scare myself a little bit.
In hindsight - we could have tackled this challenge all together; Dahlia driving to dinner, followed by a scary movie, but we still had fun conquering our fears and supporting (while also laughing at) our colleagues. How are you scaring yourself this year?