Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone and Into New Opportunities

As I have grown in the Squidoo Sea, if you will, I have countless times been inspired by Lensmasters who swim out of their comfort zones. I see lenses that are just WOW when I read them. Some so filled with passion, zeal, a Lensmaster's love for what they do, enjoy or the message they convey.

Why do I think Squidoo Lensmasters swim out of their comfort zones as part of this great community? Let me share.....

IT TAKES COURAGE TO PUT YOUR IDEAS LIVE ON THE INTERNET - Being a Squidoo Lensmaster is rewarding. I can see that because I have been inspired by so many new ideas and creative juices since I really got involved. However still it takes courage to put your ideas, viewpoints, creativity, opinions, passion and more out there for the whole wide world - or at least the world wide web - to see. That is a big form of stepping out of what most would consider a comfort zone.

LENSMASTERS SHARE THEIR PASSIONS WITH THEIR MESSAGE - Often times when I read your lenses I get a true feeling that whatever you are writing about touches you right down to your toes. It's such a sharing from the heart - with passion - that I have a deep respect for. That too is a place where many would be out of their comfort zones.

IT TAKES GUTS AND A STRONG BELIEF TO STATE AN OPINION THAT MAY NOT BE POPULAR WITH EVERYONE - Even when I am reading a lens that I may not necessarily agree with the message or parts of it, I am still moved by the Lensmaster's commitment to sharing that thought, idea, opinion with the community. It takes guts to put something out there that could be controversial or not in keeping with the flow and I respect those Lensmasters who step out of their comfort zones to do so.

I find Squidoo Lensmasters are probably some of the MOST LIKELY TO STEP OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES. For that, my friends in the Squidoo Sea, I respect you and look forward to seeing more from all of you! May we continue to strive for what we believe in and value and press firmly on in our quest towards our goals and dreams.

The Comfort Zone is our living, work, and social environments that we have grown accustomed too. It determines the type of friends we make or people we associate with. It determines a life style we accept or reject.

Young people are very adaptable, they can adjust to changing comfort zones with ease. They can socialize with homeless people in the morning and be equally at east at a formal banquet in the evening. As we age, the ability to adapt to wide-ranging comfort zones, becomes more difficult. Social prejudice narrows the comfort zone range. Our present comfort zone is 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.

If you were content with your current comfort zone, you would not be reading this. Because you are reading, it is assumed you want to make some changes in the way you live and work. That brings us to step two. If you are dissatisfied with your life style, you can change it by changing your comfort zone.

Comfort zones are directly related to our dreams or goals, which is associated with self-fulfilling prophecy. In order to grow and change, we must first be discontent with our current comfort zone. To change to different life style, establishing a business, or succeeding at a challenging project, we must realize that all meaningful and lasting changes occur first in daydreaming (fantasizing) and then they work their way into reality. If we clearly and vividly imagine ourselves being and having the things we truly want, we will create a new picture of ourselves. The old comfort zone, in time, will be unacceptable and we will find ways to acquire the new.

For example, if we want to sail the South Pacific in our own sailboat, we must clearly and vividly, image ourselves sitting in the cockpit of our boat and think about the challenge this environment would bring. This includes accepting the dangers along with the pleasures. The key to upgrading our comfort zone is to raise our self-image and level of what we expect or want first, then we will find opportunity to make the goal reality.

The more clearly and vividly we fantasize our dream, with frequent repetitions and emotional impact, the stronger and more real the pictures on the subconscious level will become. Once our subconscious accepts this image and its expectation, the subconscious will go to work, searching for a way to bring it into reality. If we feel that these things are too good for us, we will find ways to fail. If, however, we intentionally use our imagination to:

Imagine the change we want.

Build an expectation of the change.

Mentally and emotionally, prepare ourselves for the change by anticipating what it will be like.

We can find ways to dream and, when mentally ready, they will arrive faster than we ever thought possible. In effect, what we are doing is deliberately preparing for self-fulfilling prophecy. As has been repeated many times, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."

For some people, problems, suffering, poverty, bad breaks are their comfort zone. Try to take away these problems and they will fight back. They find comfort in finding fault and complaining about their misfortune. The same is true for businesses. Daily crisis, employees making bad decisions, accidents, trivial problems, confrontation between management and workers is a workforce comfort zone. Management and workers have grown accustomed to seeing things go wrong and expect them too. Management finds comfort in finding fault with workers and workers find comfort in finding fault with management.

Negative comfort zones can be overcome by setting and thinking about positive goals. What we think about all day and what we expect, be it positive or negative, is our comfort zone.

Note: If the comfort zone we are seeking is beyond our current income, then, we need to develop a service that has greater value than our current one. Money, power and influence are not goals, they are rewards ONLY for personal achievement.

Credits: http://www.motivation-tools.com/elements/comfort_zone.htm

A link has been provided to this website in the On Topic Websites section for further reading enjoyment and personal development.

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