Comfort zones are nothing more than familiar territory. We stay in them out of fear. Comfort zones don’t take us on new adventures and don’t help us grow.
People often sit in their comfort zone longer than normal after they reach a goal. They set the goal. They reach it. Then they sit there.
When you reach your goal, it’s time to set a new one. It is only by reaching for bigger and better goals that we find how capable we are at overcoming new challenges. We let ourselves become complacent by accepting the fear.
For some folks, it is natural to be adventurous and try new challenges. For others, it is a very scary prospect. The fear that creeps up on us and keeps us in our comfort zones is usually caused by a lack of confidence.
We’ve all been there. We’ve all been in a position where we wonder if we bit off more than we could chew. We feel that imposter syndrome starting to creep in. We worry that we’re just not good enough. How do you shake this feeling? There’s really only one thing to do. You have to MOVE FORWARD, face that fear and give it your best shot. We are all capable of achieving far more than we think can.
When we were small, learning to ride a bike seemed impossible. We had to fall off the bike again and again. We may have been scraped up and bruised, but we learned. And when we took the training wheels off or when someone finally let go of that bike and we were actually doing it by ourselves, we felt like we could conquer the world.
As we get older, we tend to stay in the status quote. We stop facing our fears. We think ‘ok, we’ve done enough.’ We don’t want to be beginners again because it can be painful. The thought of having to learn a new skill or having to go into another career is terrifying. We are adults now. We shouldn’t have to feel like newbies. BUT WE NEED TO FEEL LIKE NEWBIES! It shows we are challenging ourselves and improving.
When have you felt your greatest success? My guess is when you overcame what seemed to be impossible odds and achieved your goals. You pushed past your fears. You put in the work. You took the punches. And you did it!
Why is it we so quickly forget these amazing wins when we have to do it again?
Life is competition and cooperation. And most of the competition is with ourselves. We should be working to be better than we were yesterday. And most of our doubts are completely made up. The worries, the doubt, the fears are mostly just in your head.
It’s time to build up your gutsy, all-in, stick-to-it muscles. Much of life is competition and there will always be another to come along that can do your job better than you can. You have to constantly step outside of that cozy box of your comfort zone so you can realize your true potential.
The right way is rarely the easiest way. It takes trial and error to find the best way and along with that way you will encounter failure. It is best to focus on moving forward by doing more rather.
Leap and fall. Pick yourself up and leap again. At some point, you will realize the leap is what changes everything. Coloring outside the box is what makes your talent special, gives you the confidence to keep going, and shows off your moxie!
