SPONSORED POST
For many of us, the difference between a good life and a great life is lots of work. Throughout our lives, we’ll encounter many chances to push past our comfort zone and walk through fire.
The comfort zone is very real
A comfort zone is a behavioral state where a person operates neutrally, sort of like being on auto-pilot. It’s using a confined number of actions to keep performance steady, and usually without venturing into uncertainty.
Your comfort zone contracts and expands at different times throughout your life. Sometimes, this may happen naturally when you’re not even paying attention.
As you push your limits and play with your boundaries, know that there’s no, “Just do this” when we’re dealing with the comfort zone. The comfort zone is an unconscious protector set in place to help us move swiftly from known to known (familiar things) and to avoid pain in doing so.
The problem is that while we have the ability to move quickly, we can only do so within its boundaries. And while we may want to experience “What’s over there,” in the growth zone, those unconscious boundaries will pop up and set off alarm bells disguised as concern, worry, or doubt.
There are 4 ways to take action toward moving out of your comfort zone and into your growth zone:
- Take a survey of your life today and identify where you find the blandness of uncomfortable familiarity—where you know you want a change. This could be in the area of your health and fitness, in your relationships, your work, etc.
- Consider what specific change or achievement would get your growth juices flowing.
- Then, consider if this falls within the boundaries of your personal growth zone or if it lands smack dab in the panic zone leading you towards full-on anxiety.
- If it falls in your growth zone, name some specific actions you can take to help you move through the growth zone. Then, start doing things on that list consistently.
- If it falls in the panic zone, come up with an action to bridge the gap that challenges you enough to move from your comfort zone to your growth zone and gets you closer to your desired change. Then, take action.
- Practice doing things you wouldn’t normally do. Maybe it’s learning a new language, trying new foods, speaking on a stage—though this last one might throw you into the panic zone!
This is why awareness and action are so important.
And as we step out of our comfort zone, it expands. And this gives us a richer perspective. Very similar to going on an uphill hike: typically the higher you go, the more majestic the view.
Are you ready to start pushing past your comfort zone to make real, lasting change in your business and in your life? Then you’re going to love THRIVE in Business and Sales with NLP. It’s happening in Reno March 22-24 and spots are limited!
