Expand Your Familiar Zone and Experience Real Change and Results

Personally I don’t believe we have comfort zones.  We only have familiar zones.  We will stick to something familiar even when it’s uncomfortable. Real change and results lie beyond what is familiar and uncomfortable.  Gideon Hanekom

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Expand Your Familiar Zone and Experience Real Change and Results

Personally I don’t believe we have comfort zones.  We only have familiar zones.  We will stick to something familiar even when it’s uncomfortable. Real change and results lie beyond what is familiar and uncomfortable.  Gideon Hanekom

I have found that people tend to stick to what is familiar rather than comfortable.  We will often remain in the situation is even uncomfortable, as long as it is familiar.  We will pay higher rates but at least we know what service we will get.  We will drive a bit further but at least we know where the location is.  We will keep hanging out with the same people even when we know their influence isn’t great, but at least it beats the fear of meeting new people.  The list goes on and on.

Whether we like it or not, most of us rarely venture from our familiar zones. We perform the same actions and create situations that are comfortable and familiar to us. Unfortunately, life doesn’t change until our actions change.

In fact, we will have to expand your familiar zone to experience real change and result in your life.  That requires doing something new.  As the old saying goes, if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you will keep getting the same results, or it least something close to.

But, we know that new actions often fall outside of your current Familiar and Comfort zones. Since humans naturally seek familiarity to stay as comfortable as possible, this is quite the conundrum. It seems that one has to choose between familiarity, comfort and growth.  it’s a simple question really — what do you desire most?  Why do you desire most for your life in the next 3, 6 or 12 months?

I’ll be brutally honest here — Personal growth and stepping up are for the brave and require some guts — it ain’t for the spineless and whiners.

So let’s look at ways to Expand Your Familiar Zone and Experience Real Change and Results in in the next couple of months.

Try these tips to take new actions and see positive changes in your life:

Make a change from your common media. Read a different type of book than you normally read. Listen to a new type of music or Podcast. Watch a movie or TV show that you would’ve never considered before. Shake things up a little bit by watching and listening to something new.  You never know, you might actually learn something that could change your life, relationships, or business.

Try new foods. Have you ever had Korean or South African food? Pick up the yellow pages and find a new restaurant. It’s uncomfortable to try new foods. That’s precisely the point. Learn to deal with a little discomfort.  Do something that unfamiliar for a change.

Shake up your other routines. Try being a vegan or go Paleo for a week or get up two hours earlier and work out. Take the bus downtown instead of driving. Meditate each evening for a month. Avoid procrastination for a week. Take on some new activities.  Spend some time reading a book in the evening instead of watching TV or YouTube.

Take a comfort zone challenge. This has become a popular idea, and I think it was pioneered by Tim Ferris (4-Hour Work Week, 4-Hour Body, 4-Hour Chef).  The only purpose of a comfort zone challenge is to increase your resistance to social judgement. You build your courage and confidence, but never put yourself in any real danger. A few examples include:

Lie down on the sidewalk for 30 seconds in a busy city.

Ask for 10% discount on every purchase you make during the day.

Sing or whistle your favorite song aloud in the grocery store.

Walk through the mall with your shirt on backwards.

Start a conversation with a very attractive man or woman.

Draw a smiley face on your forehead and walk around town.

Walk up and complement a stranger in a cafe.

Be completely different in your marketing ( if you’re in business) — think a weird, bold, and memorable.

Start a blog and share your ideas with the world.

Make small changes. Big changes are scary. Make a small change in your life and take things a little further each week. If you’re afraid of heights, look out a second story window. Next week, try the third floor. Several small changes are as effective as a single, larger one. This is easier than a comfort zone challenge, but much slower.

Understand the benefits of getting outside your Familiar zone. Studies have shown that maximum productivity and performance happen during times of low to moderate stress. Stress helps us focus and perform. Being too comfortable in familiar situations actually creates challenges.  You’ll learn to deal with stress and uncertainty. By stressing yourself a bit on purpose, you’ll be better able to manage stress when it naturally arises.

Visit somewhere new. Spend the night in a new town. Try camping in the mountains. Rent an Campervan for a week. Or just try the family owned grocery store on the other side of town instead of the big box store down the street.

Learn to deal with being uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable isn’t always a good reason not to do something. Learn yoga, meditation, or another stress reducing technique. In fact, anything that can improve your breathing is good.  Apply it whenever you’re feeling stressed. It won’t be long before you can confidently do and experience new things.

Bust out of your Familiar Zone and live your life from a new perspective. Your Familiar Zone will trap you if you let it. It’s possible to live beyond your current habits.  I’ve actually created a 30 day course called, Accelerate: 30 days to creating and breaking habits, that could help you with this.  As this is a new course so you can get in for free right now.  Once it closes after the first round, you will only be able to get in for $67.   A little bravery can completely change your life.  So take this time to make use of this opportunity. 

But whatever you choose to do, I’m challenging you to try some new activities in the next month and see what happens. It’s okay to be uncomfortable.  It’s okay to be scared.   You’ll expand your Familiar zone in ways you never thought you could, and by doing it, create results you never thought you could.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments below.  Please post them below

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