Afraid to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone?
You know, don't you, that one of the things that keeps you living in your comfort zone is fear? Fear of the unknown, fear of change, fear that we can't do whatever it is we want to do. What you might not know is that people who are constantly stepping outside of their comfort zone, constantly growing and expanding, and changing don't experience any more fear than those of us who stay put. But one of the things they don't experience as much as you who stay put is Regret.
If you push the envelope and constantly strive for more than you are and more than you have, you are bound to fail sometimes. We sure have. But have we failed any more than if we didn't try at all?
So what is the circle of fear we call the comfort zone? Draw a circle and in the center write all the things you're comfortable with and on the outside write everything you don't want to do. You know – the ones you get those sickening feelings about. The ones you'd rather die than do. You've just created your circle of fear. Say you have a job that you're comfortable with. To get promoted to the next position you know you'll need to do cold calls. This was number one on your 'rather die' fear list. You have two choices. Honor your comfort zone or expand your zone to include cold calls. Grow or stay where you are.
Okay I just conquered that fear. Guess I'm on cruise control now! Unfortunately, it's not so. As you conquer one fear, another just as daunting appears. The good thing is as you conquer that fear the next is a little easier. Each small successful step brings you confidence and builds your self esteem and makes you braver when it comes to making the next step.
Here is the formula for conquering the circle of fear:
1.Know what your fear is
2.Feel the fear and conquer it
3.Repeat one and two
Remember each fear you overcome not only makes your comfort zone larger but makes all the other fears easier to tackle. So, Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway.
