How Comfortable is Your Comfort Zone?

Do you have a nice life?  Do you have an exciting life?  Do you have a wonderful life?  Do you have a boring life?  What is your life like?  Are you happy?  Really happy?  Is it so wonderful and comfortable that you don’t want anything to change?  Or is it that you are fearful of moving outside your comfort zone?

What is a comfort zone?

I looked up the definition and found the following in Wikipedia:  Comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.

What do you think of that?  It’s a behavioural state – in an anxiety-neutral condition, steady performance, without risk.

That means we keep things going as they have always gone, nothing much changes and when it does, we may struggle to cope.  We lose our sense of security, that all is right with the world.

Do you know that they believe a person’s success can be described by how they handle being in their comfort zone?  Highly successful people routinely step outside their comfort zones to accomplish things. 

So when was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone?  When was the last time you did something that made you feel uncomfortable?

An example of being in a comfort zone is when you are working at a job, and no longer enjoying it but have the feeling of “Where else could I work?  My skills suit here.  I have lots of annual leave and if anything goes wrong, I have lots of sick leave.  I should just stay.  It’s okay really.”

Take a look at your life and think about where you could make a change - just a small change. Nobody said when you step outside your comfort zone it has to be dramatic and life changing.  For some of us it could be as small as a different haircut.  Just poke a toe out or a very small step.  Just a little change in your environment and surroundings can make a big difference.

It can mean that you realise change is okay.  Small changes make things happen.  A Chinese Proverb that I love is:

"Be not afraid of growing slowly,

be afraid only of standing still."

So step outside, experience a new behaviour and you will find you will get different responses.  They could be from you or from others around you.  If you have something you would love to do then think how you can make this happen one small step at a time.

Get to your goal if not by big steps,

then by little steps.

It doesn't matter how long it takes you.

What matters is if you get there or not.

L.R. Haake

It is never about how long it takes, being comfortable, being uncomfortable and just taking action to live the life you want, a life that makes you happy, excited, motivated and feeling fantastic.

It is important to realise that making changes to make the life you desire can be hard work with lots of changes but at the end of the day it will be worth all the effort.  Do what you can to live the life of your dreams.

“Be an inspiration to yourself and

you will be an inspiration to others.”

Goal Setting Success Stories

These are stories of succeeding against the odds, persisting in the face of doubt, possessing true grit, focusing and maintaining determination to never quit until the goal is reached.

Thomas Edison, an American inventor, had more than 1,000 U.S. patents to his name.  However, as a young boy in school, his mind often wandered and his teachers told him that he was “too stupid to learn anything”.  He was eventually home-schooled by his mother. 

Edison’s greatest accomplishment is the light bulb.  He was most famous for the following quote in regards to his persistence in developing the light bulb…

“I have not failed.

I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Walt Disney was fired from his first job because he was told that he lacked imagination.  He had 300 banks turn down his Walt Disney theme park idea.  At one stage, he was bankrupt.  He maintained determination and focused on what he wanted to achieve.  Today, his movies, merchandise and theme parks are worth billions.

“To some people, I am kind of a Merlin who takes lots of crazy chances,

but rarely makes mistakes.

I’ve made some bad ones, but, fortunately,

the successes have come along fast enough to cover up the mistakes.

When you go to bat as many times as I do,

you’re bound to get a good average.”

Walt Disney

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen wrote the book “Chicken Soup for the Soul” which was rejected by over 140 publishers who didn’t believe it would be a bestseller.  When it was eventually published, it sold more than 100 million copies and launched the Chicken Soup series, making both of them rich and famous.

“You have to believe it’s possible and believe in yourself.

Because after you’ve decided what you want,

you have to believe it’s possible,

and possible for you,

not just for other people.

Then you need to seek out models, mentors, and coaches.”

 Jack Canfield

Michael Jordan is known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.  In his sophomore year, he failed to make the varsity basketball team due to his height.  Michael was 5 ft. 11 in (1.80 m) and classed as too short to play at that level.

Michael developed the attitude of persistence.  “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it and that usually got me going again.”

Jordan didn’t make excuses; instead, he practiced hard perfecting his game.  His burning desire to be the best, his refusal to quit, to persevere, to practice, to do more than the minimum eventually led to him being one of the greatest basketball players of all time.

J.K. Rowling went from depending on welfare to being one of the richest women in the world. Her first book, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” was rejected by a dozen publishers.

Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, only published it because the CEO’s eight-year old daughter picked up the manuscript and started reading it and loved it so much she begged her father to print the book.

Colonel Sanders had over a 1000 knockbacks in a two-year period for his Kentucky Fried Chicken Recipe, which he developed at the age of 65.

“I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could.

And no hours, nor amount of labour,

nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me.

And I have done that ever since,

and I win by it. I know.”

Colonel Sanders

Orville and Wilbur Wright, better known as the Wright brothers, were mocked, put down and laughed at for their idea to “fly”.  After an incredible number of attempts, tons of failed prototypes and many years of experiments they were successful in developing an aeroplane that could fly.

“If we worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true really is true,

then there would be little hope for advance.”

Wright brothers

Ludwig van Beethoven is famous for many of the best loved symphonies of all time.  Five of these were composed when he was completely deaf.  His teachers thought that he was hopeless and that he would never succeed as a composer or at the violin.  Beethoven persisted and maintained his passion.

Elvis Presley is best known as the ‘King of Rock and Roll’.  However, as legend tells us, when he was still unknown, he got fired after one performance.  His manager, Jimmy Denny, told him, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son.  You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”

Winston Churchill struggled at school and failed sixth grade.  He was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the Prime Minister at the age of 62.

“I am an optimist.

It does not seem too much use being anything else.”

Winston Churchill

Donald Trump is a well-known television personality, a property magnet and author.  He is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having engineered the biggest financial turnaround in history.

In the early 1990s, Donald owed billions of dollars and many people thought he was finished.  He never lost faith in himself and refused to give in to the negative circumstances.  He said, “I didn’t believe I was finished even when the newspapers were saying so. I refused to give up. Defeat is not in my vocabulary.”

Action:

Pick one of these for your inspiration when things are getting too difficult or you are feeling overwhelmed then remind yourself about their focus, attitude and never giving up on their dream.

Thank you and I look forward to sharing more tips, strategies and skills to support you to be more organised so that you too can create a better life.

“Be an inspiration to yourself and

you will be an inspiration to others.”

The Power to Choose

We constantly make choices every day.  If we set a goal of health and fitness, which means we exercise every morning, then that needs to become our priority, we have the power to choose what we do.

When the alarm goes off of a morning, we have a choice – we can stay in that nice warm bed and grab another hour of sleep or we can get up and exercise and be on the path to achieving our goals.  It is always our choice.

Thousands of years ago, Aristotle said, “You are what you repeatedly do.”  So are you going to keep repeating what you are currently doing and not change or move forward, or are you going to take some time and identify ways that you can improve your life?

There are going to be hiccups and road blocks that will get in your way, but draw strength from knowing that you have the power to choose to find another way, another road, and another option. Don’t let excuses get in your way.

Some examples of incredible inspirational people include:

• Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel.
• Doc Counsilman, at 58, became the oldest person ever to swim the English Channel.
• Henry Ford went bankrupt 5 times before succeeding in the auto industry.
• 14 publishers rejected Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”.
• Edison’s greatest accomplishment is the light bulb.  He was most famous for the following quote in regards to his persistence in developing the light bulb…

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

• Colonel Sanders had over 1000 knockbacks in a two-year period for his Kentucky Fried Chicken Recipe.

So consider the strength in your power to choose.

There is always a way

Even if it is not true, act like it is and usually you can find a way to achieve what you want to achieve.

• You can push through the tough times
• Persist a little longer
• Search a little harder
• Keep going
• Failure is giving up
• Everything else is progress

By believing there is always a way, you give yourself every opportunity to experience success!

Action

This week be aware of what you want to do and what you are choosing to do.  Are they a match?  If yes, great, keep going.  If they are not matching, ask “why?”  Where is the blockage or what is the obstacle?

• Is it too big a first step?
• Do you need support?
• Do you need to change something else first?
• What is it that needs to happen?

Thank you and I look forward to sharing more tips, strategies and skills to support you to be more organised so that you too can create a better life.

“Be an inspiration to yourself and
you will be an inspiration to others.”

The Secrets to Making Your Dreams Come True Webinar

Please register for The Secrets to Making Your Dreams Come True This Year on Feb 13, 2013 7:00 PM EST at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6298749520438498048

“The Secrets to Making Your Dreams Come True this year” webinar will reveal key actions for you to set your year up for success. It will encourage you to move from your comfort zone so that you can achieve some of those dreams you have had for a long time now. A supporting workbook is provided so that you have an action plan for success.

We will spend time identifying your hopes, dreams and ambitions. Actually work out what you want from this year and then plan the first step required. Often when we set goals we set them in areas of our life that we are already comfortable with, a part of this process will look at where you haven’t thought about having goals and take the time to see if you should have some additional goals.

We will set these goals up so that you are feeling excited, motivated and can’t wait to get started. We want this year to be your best year yet! We will discuss the language you use to make your dreams come true this year.

We will spend some time thinking about the people you know who are living the life of their dreams, what you can learn from them and how you can use them to make your dreams come true.

At the end of the session you will have a clear list of dreams that are going to happen for you this year as well as the first step to get started. Let’s make your dreams come true this year so they are no longer dreams but actually a real part of your life.


After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

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