Growing Out of Your Comfort Zone
It has been said that "if you are not growing, you're dying." As human beings, we are on a constant journey called life. Rick Warren has been quite successful at stimulating thought and faith in his fine book, A Purpose Driven Life, suggesting that we are all here on Earth for a reason. I would like to propose that the concept of success is purpose-driven too. Earl Nightingale referred to success as the "continuing pursuit of a worthy ideal" and spoke of it often. I submit then, that success is not a destination, but a purposeful journey. On this quest, many of us become stuck in a rut. We are afraid to step out of our comfort zone to experience new growth. Exactly what is our comfort zone? It's an intangible, a thought process actually, that frames our plane of existence. Typically it is our set of limits, our borderline, beyond which we will not normally step. It is a very powerful force, with many internal, deeply rooted psychological components. For the most part, fear of the unknown and fear of failure are the major inhibiting culprits. All of us have experienced the anxiety-induced sick feeling in the pit of our stomach, the sweaty palms or the sudden nervousness similar to having consumed too much caffeine that are often associated with stepping closer to the edge of our comfort zone. Considering these and other symptoms, many people don't bother to stretch themselves in any direction. They remain somewhat content to stay as they are, complacent, safe and sound. Is staying within our comfort zones really a safe bet? I suggest that it is not. Our society, knowledge, technology, understanding and communications are evolving at a speed of light pace. Sooner or later, we will be left behind if we don't act. Depending upon your career, playing it safe is usually not an option. We too must continue to learn, to grow, or risk falling behind, eventually succumbing to commercial, creative, functional, and spiritual, emotional or possibly physical death. There is little real choice in the matter. We must continue to learn and grow, stretching out of the confines of our existing comfort zone or face the bleak consequences. I have previously written of the Slight Edge Formula, where we introduce incremental, positive change into our lives over a period of time. This concept encourages exponential personal growth in a consistent, non-threatening manner. This is the means to grow and stretch out of our current comfort zone, to expand our possibilities without experiencing the energy-robbing anxiety previously described. Knowing these facts then, will enable you to make conscious decisions to move forward, wake up and learn something new. Change is a subject most people don't want to talk about. Change makes a lot of us uncomfortable, but it should not be that way. Change is viewed as a threat by many and welcomed like a warm breeze by others. Many people see change as positive and part of the natural order. The way to reduce anxiety about change is to prepare for it. In my previous article, Learn Faster; Change is Coming, facts were presented to enable us to prosper in changing times. Change is a constant, only its pace varies. The better prepared we are to accept and embrace change, the greater our adaptation and profit will be. Our comfort zone is dictated by change. The harder we fight change and resist its force, the more difficult it is to break through our current comfort zone and move forward. Start incrementally, embracing small changes and adapting to their effects, then move again. A tree grows a small amount at a time, adding layer and layer to its foundation for greater strength and stability in the future. Be like the tree, ever growing. My family and I visited beautiful Niagara Falls recently. I was impressed by the sheer volume and force of the white water as it draped down the falls, crashing into mist on the rocks below. Change is like that water plummeting over the edge. Nothing will stand in its way. Like the river, it will move anything in its path and forever impact its surroundings with each gallon of flowing water. The same can be said of our comfort zone. Once it expands, we will grow and never be the same. The greater the circumference of our comfort zone, the more capable we become, the greater our accomplishments will be. There is no growth unless we embrace change, letting go of fear and expand our comfort zone. Upon reflection, you will see that there is really no rational or practical alternative. Embrace the Slight Edge Formula and fearlessly grow out of your comfort zone. Daniel Sitter is the author of the breakthrough e-book, Learning For Profit, the revolutionary how-to book providing simple, step-by-step instructions to teach people exactly how to learn new skills faster than ever before. It's currently available from download.com, the author's web site http://www.learningforprofit.com/ and a variety of online book merchants. Mr. Sitter is a contributing writer for several online and traditional publications. His expertise include sales, marketing, effective learning techniques, self-improvement and general business interests.
Related News
Parker hears, answers call for motivation - Press of Atlantic City
Motivation to Find America - Dakota Voice
Motivation to Find AmericaDakota Voice, SD -22 hours agoMuslim Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, cutting off the land trade routes from Europe to India and China, so Europeans sought new routes. ... |
Tough practices drive motivation - The Daily Collegian Online
Tough practices drive motivationThe Daily Collegian Online, PA -17 minutes agoBy Eddie Gentile Junior Lauren McCarthy tossed her racket up and snatched it out of the air while mumbling furiously at herself after losing a point to ... |
Weight Loss Motivation: A Bonus on Your Quest for Fitness - Examiner.com
Motivation, belief in venture can mean success - San Bernardino Sun
Motivation, belief in venture can mean successSan Bernardino Sun, CA -8 hours agoYou've come up with an idea for a business venture and believe it has great potential for success. However, you don't feel you have the technical expertise ... |
Hopkins concedes money is chief motivation - ABC Online
Hierarchy of needs - Economist
Hierarchy of needsEconomist, UK -3 hours agoFirst presented in a paper (“A Theory of Human Motivation”) published in the Psychological Review in 1943, it postulated that human needs fall into five ... |
Minnesota Gophers have extra motivation going against coach Tim - Pioneer Press
UNC: Searching For Motivation? - Bleacher Report
Investigator Discounted Palins’ Fears as Motivation to Seek ... - New York Times
|
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Under The Guise of Care and Concern
These words came up powerfully for me these past few months. I have had the experience this year of being in several situations in which people's genuineness and motives came into question over and over again. Have you ever met the type I am referring to? People who are correcting you because they care? People who are sharing with you for your own good and growth? People who show you every mistake and dark nook and cranny of your soul because they want to see you live a life of freedom, prosperity and possibilities?
Commitment vs.Trying - Is Trying Lying?
Today I heard the saying "Trying is lying!"
Self Determination - Making the Most Out of You
Breaking the mold of being a child is difficult. The mere addition of years does not make that happen. The dependency many adults choose, in fact, keeps them in a child-like mentality. If the doctor makes our health decisions, an accountant our financial ones, a minister our moral ones and a politician is left to decide our rights, how is that different from a child being told what to do by teachers and parents?
Get Started! Do Something!
This is about getting started. Taking that first step. It is so easy to moan about our lives and complain that things aren't how we want them to be. We all do it. We all have done it! So how can we break out of that moaning habit and turn it into a doing one? Making the decision to do something is the first step ? but taking action is the most important one. So you get it wrong. It can happen. What do you do? Do you lay there on the ground feeling sorry for yourself while life carries on around you, or do you pick yourself up, dust yourself down and do something else? Come on! Get going! Be a doer! From now on do something new that will move you forward to achieve the life you want! And whatever you do, do it with enthusiasm, with gusto and with commitment!
My Grandmother Never Had a Degree
There were four generations sitting at the kitchen table, smacking on Mommy's delicious meal-somehow we never made it to the dining room. I smiled to myself when I thought of how fabulous this truly was--sitting here, next to my grandmother, my mother, my father, my sister, my children and my niece-celebrating Mother's Day.
Break Free
I received an email the other day from one of our customers. "Please help. I am desperate. My life is a mess. I have read your book, The Initiation. I think it's true what you say, but nothing is working for me."
The Art of Wastebasketry
Are your filing cabinets stuffed so full that it's difficult to retrieve and file papers? If you're like 80% of the people in the audiences to whom I speak, your answer is "Yes." "Are there things in your filing cabinet you could probably throw out?" Most once again answer "Yes." So what's the problem?
Overcome Fear: You?ll Miss All The Shots You Don?t Take
A lot of folks are petrified at the mere thought of making an attempt. They believe they will not make it. They believe they don't have what it takes to make it, hence there was no point trying.
Activity Versus Accomplishment
Each and every day, all of us continually search for the extra edge to win at the sport of sales and marketing. One of the most important things that you need to know is that there is a thin line that exists between activity versus accomplishment. Many people feel if they are "active" then they are productive. This is not true! Too often people run around shuffling papers, go back and forth to meetings and are continually on and off their cell phones, but they never accomplish a single task. Consequently, they never obtain their ultimate goal.
Context-Free Living ... Living Without Boundaries!
I know by now that you've heard the terms Debt-Free Living, Disease-Free Living, or an overabundance of other such coined terms for various marketing ploys to sell products and services. However, I'm not here to sell you anything, as what I'm offering, you already have! You just don't know it yet!
Self-care Isnt Being Selfish
When was the last time you truly relaxed? Do you often find that another exhausting week ends and you glance at a book you bought six months ago and realise you simply haven't had the time to read it? If this sounds horribly familiar then it's likely that you are prioritising the demands in your business life and ultimately your personal life is missing out.
No Regrets
MY FOUR-MINUTE DANCING CAREER
Do We Have Free Will?
It is being suggested here that we have only one real choice in life:
Prime That Pump! Part 2
In Part 1 of this article, we talked about reaching our goals as
largely a matter of following through on desire, vision and
action. The difficulty for most of us lies in continuing to
believe that our efforts will ever bear fruit when these fruits
have not yet begun to materialize.
Nurturing Your Vision
There is a new television show, called Blind Justice that will be replacing NYPD Blue. The show follows a Detective who, at the prime of his life and career, loses his vision in a heroic attempt to thwart a bank robbery and save other police lives. The shooting of this Detective results in his losing his eyesight/vision. He refuses the "disabled" label and sues to get his job back. The show doesn't premier until a week or two from now, so I know no more about it. What immediately struck me as I watched the promo for this new TV show was the idea of losing one's vision. Not physically becoming blind, but losing the vision we once had for our lives.
Its Never Too Late To Start
Many people never start anything because they think the bus has left them standing at the station.
Have You Just Hit The Wall?
Have you hit the 'brick wall' yet?
Do More! Learn More! Create More! Live More!
Over the years in America and the west generally, the nature and means of education have dramatically changed. But it is an error to think that before the contemporary era of schooling on a mass scale that no one was deeply or broadly educated. Many in colonial America were exceptionally well-educated, yet largely self-taught or taught by a tutor or mentor. Such was the case with scientist, lawyer, theologian, statesman, patriot and father of seven, Roger Sherman.
9 Ways to Motivate Yourself When You Just Dont Feel Like It
Achieving the really big goals and dreams always involves breaking it down into do-able little steps. Assuming that you've picked a goal or dream that you really love working at, then most of the steps are a delight to take. No matter how much you love your dream and no matter how much you love your work, there are going to be tasks along the way that you really don't want to do. Those pieces of work that we hate doing can be the very ones that sabotage our success. How do you stay motivated during those parts of the journey?
Training Your Mind to Help You
Our friend, singer and songwriter Chuck Pyle, likes to say, "The mind is like a bad neighborhood-you should never go there by yourself." If you're mind hasn't been trained to help you, via methods like meditation, shamanism or NLP, it might really be a bad neighborhood. Our minds constantly absorb thoughts, behaviors, and responses from our environment. These various thought patterns and responses may or may not be in alignment with our goals. So, unless we actively train our minds to be responsive to our needs, we may be in for a wild chariot ride (and 6 out of control horses)!
|
