Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Being myself
includes taking risks with myself,
taking risks on new behavior,
trying new ways of ‘being myself,”
so that I can see who it is
I want to be.”

Hugh Prather, American writer

What a great way of looking at life. Taking risks and doing something outside of your comfort zone creates new miracles in your life and lets you see who you want to be.

Every time I am invited to a party my old tapes surface and remind me I shouldn’t go to the party because I will want to eat everything in sight. My first reaction is to call the host and tell them I can’t come to the party. Before picking up the phone I remind myself how many times I have gone to a party and there was always something for me to eat. Making sure I feel safe, I always call the host and ask about the food choices and if there is nothing for me to eat I ask if I can bring my own food. All my friends know my eating habits and have food for me to eat.

Why do I make myself crazy instead of looking for ways to leave my comfort zone? It is a human condition, which I am sorry to say we all have. We let our fears sometimes rule our lives. Listening to our fears gives us permission not to take a risk.

On the other hand, taking a risk allows all new opportunities to materialize and we start living life from a different prospective. If I allowed myself not to go to the party I would have probably stayed home, felt lonely and ate everything in sight because I was unhappy.

Going to the party I meet new people, saw old friends and eat a healthy meal. Isn’t that better than giving into my fears?

While at a party I use the following tools:
• Talk to three people before I look at the food.
• Take a plate and decide what I am going to eat before taking any food.
• Sit with a group of people while I am eating.
NEVER go back for seconds.
• Drink a cup of tea or coffee after I finish eating.
• Talk to three new people
• Leave early.

When I get home I do something nice for myself. Rewarding myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and eating healthy validates who I am.

What is your secret for giving yourself permission to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone? Leave a comment telling me your secret and together we will create a list of tools we can use to Step Out of our Comfort Zone. Helen

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mindi:Wow steping out of my comfort is a big one!!! I usually will call a friend to get the encouragement to go forward. I will do a lot of positive self talk to help me to continue to move forward and with a positive attitude.

Dillon: I do it with a friend. I will do it slowly and then do it more and more.

Adam: Focus at the job at hand. Think about the end goal. Ask myself what is my objective. Use it as a growth opertunity

jeffrey: Do it fast

Kelsy: Think about what I am going to do then do it.

Helen Burton said...

Mindi: What beautiful gifts you give yourself while taking a risk. Mom

Dillon: You are awesome! Taking small steps is the way to go. Grandma

Adam: Focusing is the key to success. Helen

Jeffrey: Right on! You are awesome! Grandma

Kelsy: Thinking about something and then doing it makes it happen. Jeffrey's Grandma

Cheryl Finley said...

Hi Helen,
Oh is this a timely post, thank you Helen. I try to have a new approach to a routine thing; so after belonging to the same bare-bone, but "enough" health club for 20+ years I explored a new one that offers more, feels better being there as they have windows all around, has a rooftop deck to relax after a workout, etc. Timing was just right. I consider the monthly fee an investment in my health & well being. Being a part of resort-like atmosphere at this club has inspired me to treat myself better in other areas of life i.e. creating order, decorating, etc.

So, doing something in a new, refreshing way helps me out of my comfort zone.

Helen Burton said...

Hi Cheryl:

It is so good to hear from you. Congratulate yourself for stepping out of your comfort zone and joining a new gym. Taking a new risk creates different opportunities. Helen

Anonymous said...

Hi Helen - if I know a secret about this, it's finding a way of stepping enough out of the comfort zone for the thing to be exciting, a challenge and a little bit scary - without trying to do something that is a huge leap and totally scary (moving out of the comfort zone is one of my issues).

Thanks for your post - Robin

Helen Burton said...

Hi Robin:

Thanks for reminding us that the way to begin is taking that first small step. Helen