2 cents on leaving the comfort zone

by Suzanne Falter Barns

Here are a few things I've determined that might help when stepping outside of your comfort zone:

1. Don't look back.
On bad days, the temptation is strong to look back at the old, safe little world and wish you hadn't leapt. But you did leap, of course, and so now must work within that bigger circle. Hindsight just gives you a headache, so don't indulge. It won't help your cause.

2. Enjoy the view you do have.
Think about the expanding number of people who will be affected or helped by what you are offering the world. No matter what sort of work you provide, it will help others on some level. So keep your focus on that..

3. Start envisioning a bigger, better you.
When I first started working with a coach, I told her I wanted to be someone who wore 'bigger shoes'. Somehow the image of bigger shoes helped me connect to the sort of impact I wanted to have in the world. Pick a concrete image for yourself -- something tangible, no matter how silly it seems -- that will help you envision a larger, more generous you.

4. Keep remembering how little you know.
The game in the land of thinking big is NOT to know how to do everything in advance. Instead, it is to stretch your ability to try things, and to follow your instinct. Your instinct is actually a far better guide than any instruction book you can ever find, and will generally steer you right whenever you listen to it.
It's also important to learn how to fail with grace, for just about every day there will be some kind of failure or frustration. By not having to know how to do everything at the outset, or having to do it perfectly, you can open yourself up to trying more and more challenging things.

5. Remember ... it's only a game.
Yes, you may have some personal investment in thinking big. You may have large sums of money tied up in your dream, or have made the mistake of talking it up with doubting relatives who are now waiting for you to blow it, big time.

However, this does not mean that your entire self-worth as a person is connected to your results. Instead, hold this grand experiment as a game, and you will have a much easier time of it. Games, after all, are fun ... and as we all know, fun is where the true power is in life. So go ahead. Step outside the circle by turning thoughts into action. Believe it or not, you do know exactly what to do.