Last updated on January 23rd, 2019 at 10:40 am
Happy Thankful Thursday dreamers!
This week I am grateful for when life forces you out of your comfort zone.
It was motivational speaker and best-selling author, Denis Waitley, who once said,
“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.”
No kidding.
I think every dreamer should have that quote painted on their wall to remind them of how the dream journey will be.
This past year has been a roller coaster ride of leaving my comfort zones with moving from my home town to a new big city, leaving my family and friends, landing a social media job three hours from my current home, and adjusting to being away from my daughter during a long workday.
If you asked me a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed that it was possible to have so many life-changing events happen within a few months of each other.
This year has definitely been about pushing me outside my comfort zone and becoming comfortable with the unknown.
Unfortunately, adult life doesn’t come with one of those “life instruction manuals” with solid advice on handling being a mom, wife, career woman and a big dreamer while living life to its fullest. Challenges suddenly come out of nowhere that end up teaching you something new about yourself.
Life constantly calls you to grow and become more.
One missing instruction that should be part of that “life manual” is how much “dreams require time and effort.” I can handle the effort part, but trying to be a super-mom /loving wife /blogger /social media expert /motivational speaker requires loads of my time. I wish there were 30-hour-days to fit in everything.
The “required time” and “comfort zone” part of dreaming has been getting me down.
When your dream begins to feel this way its time to stop and count your blessings and look at what is working in your life and all you have accomplished to date. All too often we forget to celebrate our small dream efforts because we are always looking far down the dream road at how much is still left to do.
We take the small gifts for granted because we “aren’t ‘there’ yet.” The ‘there’ seems to be a constantly moving target.
You need to have faith rolled up with patience and a belief that your dream is coming to you as fast as it possibly can. The dream that you are seeking is seeking you. But you must also grow to be ready for the changes your dream will rain down upon your current life.
Life tests your commitment to your dream by requiring a commitment of time.
It’s using time to test you to see if your dream is something that you truly desire, and if is, then you need to train for it and time is part of that training process of living outside your comfort zone.
Time is helping you to learn a new career so you can see what it takes to promote a product on a national scale. Time is opening up your life to new people and experiences to teach you to be strong and trust your inner strength.
Being grateful for the challenges we face when time is teaching us to grow and preparing us for our dream is the hardest part of the dream process. I cannot lie and say that there aren’t times I’ve shaken my fist in the air– angry at some big change that seem forced upon my life.
But if I resist and I fight what is happening then the situation grows bigger and more difficult to handle– it’s like attempting to swim against the white rapids of a river. It’s better to quit fighting the rushing water and allow the river’s current to take you downstream while you work at relaxing and enjoying the new scenery at it unfolds.
Recognize that you are in a situation that is pushing you outside of your comfort zone and be grateful for it. This could be the big change that sets you on the right track for seeing your big dream come true.
It might end up being one of those moments that you look back on and exclaim,
“Wow! If that hadn’t happened then this great thing I am experiencing right now would not have come true!”
This week I challenge you to be grateful for the moments when life is asking you to step outside of your comfort zone. Recognize what is working in your life, what you have accomplished thus far and hold on to the vision of your completed dream with all of your heart.
Know that your good is coming to you–even if it seems like it is taking too long–and be grateful that you are being challenged to live the dreamer’s life just outside your comfort zone all wrapped up in time.
Just pursue it!
-Sue
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Sue Levy is the founder of the South African Just Pursue It Blog and Inspirational Women Initiative. She’s a motivational writer and media designer, who is obsessed with everything inspirational with a hint of geek. She thrives on teaching women how to be brave and take big chances on themselves. You can find Sue on her Twitter page @Sue_Levy.
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