Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone Means Working Smarter Not Harder

I like when things are neat and tidy and organized.

This makes me feel at ease, comfortable and safe. This is when I am in my “Comfort Zone”: a behavioral state wherein a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.

Recently, I realized that living in my comfort zone wasn’t really living. When I live in my comfort zone, my life isn’t as vibrant and my business is something I have to do rather than want to do. I wanted to just follow creative ideas as they came to me to see where they would lead me. I wanted to have fun. I wanted to live in my truth. So, I started saying YES.

I started taking some risks committing to living in a place that is exciting and colorful. I started reaching beyond what makes me feel comfortable. I chose to live my life from a place where I say YES more than NO. Some of these choices have been challenging. Some even involved making difficult communications, because saying yes to me sometimes involves saying no to others.

In the past two weeks alone I have sent emails suggesting new ideas to friends and associates. I have posted love poems on Facebook. I have introduced myself to people I don’t know and asked them to collaborate with me on specific projects or I have asked them to include me as a speaker at an upcoming event. In each instance I have gotten amazing feedback. Maybe the initial request has been denied, but the idea it was born from has materialized in a much bigger way than I had imagined it would. The result is that doors are opening faster and more frequently and my business is growing more quickly than it was before.

This is my new definition of “working smarter not harder”.

I see a pattern. The more I reach beyond what I would normally do, the easier everything else around me becomes. My “work” is no longer work. The more risks I take the more rewards I receive. It is as if the road comes up to meet me when I take a step outside my comfort zone. I am not struggling, trying, pushing, or working hard. Instead I am having more fun, feeling more energized and living in a more joyous and creative state. This is a smarter way to operate on a daily basis.

Think about it for a moment. When you reach out in the direction of your dreams and STRETCH beyond where you would normally go what happens? Even if you don’t always get a resounding “YES”, is there a “YES” in the “NO”? Is there something that comes to you that is perfect for what you need at the time? If it isn’t exactly what you asked for, is it something that brings you one, two or even more steps closer to where you want to be?

Following our dreams, really living in our truth can be a scary thing in itself. When we do this and live in a place beyond comfortable we create the space needed for miracles to happen. We are able to function at our best and at our most creative! It might not seem to be the case in the moment, but our businesses will move forward more quickly when we operate from this place.

Usually this place is on the other side of our comfort zone. You know over there, across the rickety bridge, on the other side of the raging river that is the line that keeps us safe in our zone. The journey over that bridge is well worth the effort.

I bet you could even look back and track some of your choices. Decisions made from a place that might seem a little risky are usually the ones that have the higher rate of return!

I have a challenge for you. Take a step outside your comfort zone. Be true to yourself and say YES in the moment and let it lead you beyond where you are comfortable. Do something that is a little scary. Whether it has anything to do with your business or not, just try it and see what happens.

As Nike says, “Just do it”!