The Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone: "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."

Each of us have one of those things we call our "comfort zone" in which we stand. We can even see that our abilities should allow us to stretch our boundaries.

What can you find outside of your comfort zone will never be found until you step out. Taking a chance to stretch beyond you ability will present you with new and greater things. You see, it is said that we exist in one of the following conditions.

- We want to maintain our current comfort zone.
- We are dissatisfied with current conditions and want to move to another comfort zone.
- We were suddenly thrust from our comfort zone and want back in.
- We need to make decisions without supporting facts.

The comfort zone can be a decision making tool.

There are many different reasons for either staying or wanting to move beyond or to another comfort zone in our lives. But nothing can be done without a decision. Even staying in one place requires a decision to keep things the same.

So how do you break habits; how do you step out of your comfort zone? Here’s a few suggestions on how to do it from Adrian Savage:

Understand the truth about your habits. They always represent past successes. You have formed habitual, automatic behaviors because you once dealt with something successfully, tried the same response next time, and found it worked again. That’s how habits grow and why they feel so useful. To get away from what’s causing your unhappiness and workplace blues, you must give up on many of your most fondly held (and formerly successful) habits. and try new ways of thinking and acting. There truly isn’t any alternative. Those habits are going to block you from finding new and creative ideas. No new ideas, no learning. No learning, no access to successful change.

Do something—almost anything—differently and see what happens. Even the most successful habits eventually lose their usefulness as events change the world and fresh responses are called for. Yet we cling on to them long after their benefit has gone. Past strategies are bound to fail sometime. Letting them become automatic habits that take the controls is a sure road to self-inflicted harm.

Take some time out and have a detailed look at yourself—with no holds barred. Discovering your unconscious habits can be tough. For a start, they’re unconscious, right? Then they fight back. Ask anyone who has ever given up smoking if habits are tough to break. You’ve got used to them—and they’re at least as addictive as nicotine or crack cocaine.

Be who you are. It’s easy to assume that you always have to fit in to get on in the world; that you must conform to be liked and respected by others or face exclusion. Because most people want to please, they try to become what they believe others expect, even if it means forcing themselves to be the kind of person they aren’t, deep down.

You need to start by putting yourself first. You’re unique. We’re all unique, so saying this doesn’t suggest that you’re better than others or deserve more than they do. You need to put yourself first because no one else has as much interest in your life as you do; and because if you don’t, no one else will. Putting others second means giving them their due respect, not ignoring them totally. Keeping up a self-image can be a burden. Hanging on to an inflated, unrealistic one is a curse. Give yourself a break.

Slow down and let go. Most of us want to think of ourselves as good, kind, intelligent and caring people. Sometimes that’s true. Sometimes it isn’t. Reality is complex. We can’t function at all without constant input and support from other people. Everything we have, everything we’ve learned, came to us through someone else’s hands. At our best, we pass on this borrowed existence to others, enhanced by our contribution. At our worst, we waste and squander it. So recognize that you’re a rich mixture of thoughts and feelings that come and go, some useful, some not. There’s no need to keep up a façade; no need to pretend; no need to fear of what you know to be true

There is much you probably want to achieve in your life. By stepping "out of the ordinary" into areas of discomfort, your world will expand. With that expansion will be greater opportunity and success.

Stay inspired my friends!