Step out of your comfort zone and discover more about YOU!

“When a butterfly has emerged, it can never turn back into a caterpillar”
- Colin Wilson

Already in the past I’ve talked with you about successful people and what sets them out from those who aren’t so successful.  To refresh you on that topic though, what really sets these guys apart from the not-so-successful is their ability to take risks.  Women and men that are willing and prepared to step out of their comfort zones in order to bring about the visions they have in their minds. And this takes clarity, courage and mental toughness.

To turn their dreams into reality!

And in the process, these successful people also learn a whole lot more about who they are.  I can think of famous business entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or the late Dame Anita Roddick and entertainment giants like Simon Cowell. But also those I admire in my own community people that I grew up with, who have achieved so much.

Taking risks and stepping out of one’s comfort zone tends to do that.

Alan Alda, the famous actor who starred in that cult classic television show M*A*S*H and many other films has often come out with really wise quotes.  One of my favourite ones from him said, “You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you’ll discover will be wonderful.  What you’ll discover is yourself.”

In our comfort zones, nothing is challenged. It’s all mundane.  It’s all 100% familiar and safe.  There’s no risk in it.  It is completely safe and unintimidating. In our comfort zone – if we choose to stay there – nothing changes at all.  And we don’t learn a whole lot about ourselves, because all we seem to experience is more of the same.

Nothing spectacular happens on any level.

Venture out of that comfort zone and the experience changes completely. We’ll encounter different situations, different people…and we’ll have the opportunity to respond to those different situations and people.  In the responding, we learn more about who we are.

But because it’s all unfamiliar to us, we need to rely on our intuition to find our way.  That gut feeling – our internal guidance system.  That’s why stepping out of our comfort zones is challenging.

But there’s no other way we can experience new things and new people.  If we don’t change the scenery either internally or externally, we won’t see anything different.  We won’t diversify and expand our life experiences – thus our learning and self discovery – any other way.

Embrace your next opportunity to truly step out!  Don’t stress out about it – enjoy it!

Step out of your comfort zone in 2010.

P.S. I will be taking on 4 new coaching clients early in 2010 for an intensive 1 year coaching programme. Contact me directly at Donald@zonedinperformance.com if you are interested. A place on the programme is not guaranteed and I will be working with people totally committed to creating the “WOW LIFE” they desire and acting fearlessly to make their vision a reality.

The secret to true self-discovery and the psychology of personal re-invention Part 1