Stretching Beyond Your Comfort Zone

By Stacey Mayo

To live out your dreams, requires you to stretch, get out of your comfort zone and try new things, even when you don’t know how they will turn out. It is important to let go of your fear of the unknown and trust that you will be able to handle whatever happens.

This doesn’t mean to jump without a net, i.e., without any means of support or knowledge of what you are doing. It simply means to take small steps in the direction in which you want to go. It can be tremendously helpful to get support from experienced friends, mentors or coaches to support you in this.

Often people only take on what they know they can do; i.e. they stay within their comfort zone. It is a natural tendency for people to want to stay within their comfort zone even if they are unhappy, simply because it is familiar and they perceive it is safe.

I use the word perceive here because I have talked to many clients and perspective clients over the years who stayed in their job even though they were unhappy because they thought it was safe. The amount of layoffs in corporate America between the years 2000-2003 began to shake up that paradigm. I am proud to tell people that though the corporation I used to work for as VP, Human Resources is no longer in business, my small company is still prospering. Security is not found in a corporation or in anything external, it is found within ourselves.

I interviewed Stacy Allison, the first woman to climb Mt. Everest for my upcoming book, I Can't Believe I Get Paid To Do This!: Remarkable People Reveal 26 Proven Strategies for Making Your Dreams a Reality.

Stacy stretches beyond her comfort zone regularly. This plays a large role in her success. The first time Stacy scaled a rock; it was” very, very hard” for her. Later she chose to climb a mountain that was ten years beyond her experience level. It is important to note that she went with people who had the experience and could guide her through the challenge.

Throughout her life, in climbing, speaking and writing, Stacy continued to take on challenges that were above and beyond what she knew she could do. In taking on these challenges, she increased her confidence in her abilities, pushed beyond what she knew herself capable of and indeed, became the first woman to successfully scale Mt. Everest. (You can read the whole incredible story in my book, I Can't Believe I Get Paid To Do This!: Remarkable People Reveal 26 Proven Strategies for Making Your Dreams a Reality.)

Coaching Questions:

1) Where in your career or personal life are you hanging out in your comfort zone even though you know that stretching beyond it would bring you closer to your dream?

2) What thoughts or circumstances are keeping you there?

3) What are you resisting?

4) Who could you get to support you in moving forward? (Pick someone who will be unconditionally supportive)

Article by Stacey Mayo. Stacey Mayo founded the Center for Balanced Living in 1995 as a vehicle for carrying out her life's work and has since supported thousands of people in making their dreams come true. She is author of "I Can't Believe I Get Paid To Do This!: Remarkable People Reveal 26 Proven Strategies for Making Your Dreams a Reality."

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