Last updated on December 6th, 2012 at 10:42 pm
When used to describe the owner of a business, a comfort zone defines their mental space of complacency; they get to a certain point in any kind of growth, and then just stop and level off. This zone could be present for years, existing to protect the owner and confuse him with the belief that “complacency and stability” are the same thing.
What is inside the comfort zone?
Feelings of contentment, status-qua, no new opportunities, and yes, the big brother – fear.
Fear keeps us in the comfort zone and protects us from what’s outside the zone — things like new ideas, confidence, education, courage, and change.
So what exactly does that mean to “break out of your dreamer comfort zone”?
In my experience the process is pretty universal, believe it or not.
As dreamers, we have our own experiences of what it takes to go after what we want.
Most often, we start with a lot of excitement, hope, energy and desire. Somewhere along the way, the actual work it takes to make your dreams happen will have to start…you know, the little, boring, un-sexy steps we have to take to get from here to there.
It can get overwhelming and cause us to take pause. We get distracted, tired, or pushed off track due to what’s going on in our everyday lives – and from there, build the “comfort zone” to protect ourselves and our dreams.
We adjust to the status-qua, reduce our risk and maybe the worst feeling of all – we settle for less than what we want.
Here are 5 steps to break out the dreamer’s comfort zone
- Understand your own zone and why it exists – yes everyone’s comfort zone is their own and yours is defined by your beliefs, perceptions and past experiences.
- When it comes to your dreams, where is it that you hold yourself back? What do you specifically avoid, and why?
- Determine if the comfort zone is based on perception or facts. Are your fears real, or just beliefs you have about the situation?
- Once you know where and why they exist, you can start to break through them – Admit that you cant solve for everything at once – pick one aspect of the zone, and then
- Take one small step towards your dream. You may have many but take just one.
It may take a while to reflect on these questions, so give yourself time. Journal your responses to keep track of your thoughts and comfort zone busting ideas.
Stand in the truth that there are people in the world who know more than you, and people in the world who know less than you. It’s not a question of who is better; it’s the realization we have an opportunity to learn from both. —Remy Gervais
Until next photo,
Remy’s dream is creating opportunities for photography showings and public displays of her work.
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