You May Have to Move Out of Your Comfort Zone to Win
By Sandy Schroeder
It may not be totally fun, but stepping outside of a comfort zone often helps us succeed. If you have a favorite groove, this may be a challenge, but once you see the results you may be sold on the idea.
Dr. Travis Blackberry, co-founder of TalentSmart, an agency that services 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies, tellS us how this works. He says our brains are wired so that it’s hard to take action until we feel some stress or discomfort. It’s really a balancing act. If you move way out of your comfort zone you may do a stress meltdown, but if you’re too comfortable you probably won’t be achieving a lot.
Bradberry encourages us to take steps like these to break out.
Do something amazing – Pick a goal that you never thought you could do and make it happen. You might deliver a convention speech or solve a major problem within your group. The effort may move you way out of your comfort zone, but the results will reinforce everything else that you tackle with a new level of confidence.
Reach out to new people – When you attend a convention or join a meeting, introduce yourself to someone new. It’s tempting to hang out with your regular group, but you may learn a lot and gain more confidence when you connect with new people.
Hold your fire – When conflicts arise and you know you are right it’s very tempting to speak up, but it’s usually not a good idea. Better to choose your battles wisely and only speak up when the issue is crucial.
Get up early – You may not be an early bird, but there’s a lot to be said for giving yourself some extra time to eat a good breakfast, exercise, and allow yourself some lead time to be super-prepared for a busy day or challenging meeting.
Discover meditation – Moving steadily forward gets the job done, but pausing to let your brain clear may give you a whole new focus. Researchers say meditation may help us be more flexible, resilient, and calm, helping us solve knotty problems and think around corners.
Help someone – Volunteering is a win-win situation. There are countless local, national and world groups that need help. Pick the ones that work for you and take your kids along to see what helping others can do. Donating time, money or effort always makes a difference. It can be quite addictive, too when you see the results.
As you step out of your comfort zone, see what works best for you, and then keep right on going.
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in San Jose, Calif.