My last Blog got some amazing response from my readers, especially with respect to the – “Frog in hot water syndrome” words that I had used. What I meant by that was by being in your comfort zone over a period of time, you will become comfortable in that situation.
Are you aware that a frog, when placed in water which when gradually heated, will eventually die by being cooked.
The Irony here is that many people go through something similar in their own lives, be it having a bad job, partner and more often than not financial instability.
Over the years I have seen that one achieves greatness by pushing the limits. According to me a comfort zone is nothing but a mental space you live in. Here in this zone, there are well defined boundaries within which you feel a sense of emotional security with your life and your decision making.
If you are going through the following emotions like excessive stress, envy, excuses, self criticism & stagnation in life, then you should read on to overcome the urge to stay put in the comfort zone and do whatever it takes to move forward. To begin with –
Overcome the fear barrier: Fear of failure and sometimes even success, stops most of us from moving out of our comfort zone. Work on narrowing down as to what is the cause and effect and how much of this is impacting you in your life. Pick on a couple of things – ideally 2-3 things & begin to work on the same.
Take external help if required to overcome this and do whatever it takes to walk out of this fear barrier. As with most of our imagined mountains, this is also an emotional wall and it usually breaks down, once you begin to work at it. Most of my clients tend to be surprised when they overcome this wall and move ahead towards their goals.
There is no perfect time: If you wait for the perfect time to begin, then usually it never happens. Accept the fact that there will never be a perfect time for anything in life.We need to work towards making it perfect. When I moved out of my corporate job, nothing was perfect and I did not even know what I would be doing.
I did it anyway and figured out that I need to take a calculated risk in moving out of my own comfort zone. In hindsight If I had not made the move, then I would have still been living paycheque to paycheque.
Accept the results of your actions: This is important ,once you have decided to take a few baby steps. Remember most of the time things do not go the way we want it to. Do yourself a favour and do not beat yourself up on the first few instances. Try not eating the whole whale at once but break it into smaller chewable bits, which might take more time but will ensure that it keeps you grounded.
I always looked forward to the outcome, when I moved out of my own comfort zone and approached things with an open mind. I always tell people to look at life as a marathon and not like a quick sprint.
Change your environment: Sometimes a simple thing such as meeting up with people who dare to do the things most of us do not even attempt, will bring out your adventurous side. I do not miss a single opportunity to read or if possible meet up with people who do this on a consistent basis because there is always lot of learning’s to be picked up.
I have seen this in my own life, that when I have done the things which seems impossible at one time – be it traversing through the highest motorable roads or staying in the coldest inhabited place in the world. This has made me tap more into my adventurous side in life also.
Visualize your success: Finally by working on creating the neural pathways in your own mind, you are preparing to take the risk associated with the new steps.. What according to me is the biggest takeaway from visualization is that, while execution is ongoing, the mind does not look at the flight or fight response, because it has already experienced it a couple of times while you are visualizing. This makes a huge difference when I work with my clients on some of their biggest challenges.
I am sure some of you are ready to take the first steps in moving out of your comfort zone and I will be more than happy to hear from you if you would like me to join you in this journey. Do reach out to me at my mail Id coach@satishrao.in or on my FB page www.facebook.com/B.N.Satishrao.