M2A! September (Comfort Zone) Week 4: What Next?

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about our ‘comfort zones’ and how they affect our lives.  After all this time I think a comfort zone can be summed up in these words:

A comfort zone is a dividing line that sits between ourselves and absolute freedom.

This is not to say that all comfort zones are bad.  They certainly have a way of keeping us out of trouble or from getting hurt.  Walking on the edge of the roof of a 10 story building might be out of our comfort zones, but this is for a reason.  (I just needed to clarify this for anyone just waiting to pick apart my definition. )

But for the most part, our comfort zones are just barriers that keep us from total freedom in our daily pursuits.  Maybe we let our fears of social interaction keep us from talking to a perspective client or our ‘discomfort’ of exercise keep us from getting into shape and feeling great.  It is with this in mind that I want to leave you with a few final thoughts on the subject, before we move on to next months theme and forget all about this.

-Know that anything is possible

It is amazing what the human mind is capable of.  No amount of fear can stop it from taking action; only you can.  So pinpoint those areas in your life that are holding you back and know that they too can be conquered.  It’s only a matter of making the conscious decision to take action and then following that action with a little bit of ‘insanity’ (or at least it will feel insane to your ’safer side’).  When everything inside you is screaming, “run away!”, you just need to do the exact opposite and show yourself what you are capable of.  The more you do this, the weaker that voice will become and the more confidence you will build in yourself.

-Don’t get discouraged

Don’t worry if you feel like you are still at the mercy of your comfort zones.  It takes time to break through these barriers.  Bringing in negative feelings only makes things harder.  Just keep moving forward and stay positive.  If what you are doing isn’t working, change things up and give it another shot.  This isn’t a competition.

“We fail to see that we control our own destiny; make ourselves do whatever is possible; make ourselves become whatever we long to be.” ~ Orison Swett Marden

This will finish out the first M2A! theme on “Motivate Thyself”.  Next week the theme will be ‘Exercise’.  Fun, Fun, Fun!!!