Are you complacent? Are you living in a comfort zone where you aren’t stretching yourself to be the best that you can be?
Too often we get in a rut and accept where we are as where we need to be. But by doing that we don’t grow and we don’t push ourselves. Being comfortable is easy. To stretch forces us to grow, learn and be more than we are.
I really try to push my comfort boundaries. To try new things. Perhaps it’s just a new way of doing something familiar. Or perhaps it’s trying something totally unfamiliar. Whatever it is that I do, I usually am much better off for having tried it.
The first step of any new endeavor is tough. We might fail. We might make fools of ourselves. Or we might just succeed. And how great would that feel?
Get out of your comfort zone and reach for something new and exciting.
Have you ever seen people who truly look older than their years? They seem to embody all things ancient. Their attitude has impacted how they look, feel and act.
I’ve seen some fifty and sixty somethings look and act far older than some eighty and ninety year olds.
They’ve forgotten how to tap into that playful spirit that lives within all of us. Life has turned into a number for them. A drudgery. They’ve lost their zest for living – and playing.
My father was in his fifties when a group of neighborhood children knocked on our door and asked my mother if my father could “come out to play.” You see, he was always able to tap into his inner childlike spirit. He enjoyed people of all ages. But the children were especially dear to him. He loved to entertain them with endless stories and inspired them to tap into their imaginations. He enjoyed teaching them things and helping them with problems. He never stopped learning and doing. And he never looked or acted old until his health got the better of him in his nineties.
I suggest that we all try to tap into our inner child and encourage him or her to come out and play and lighten our load. Show us how to play again, if we’ve forgotten. Get us to relieve some stress and enjoy our lives. Add balance to the daily work schedule and massive to do items that surround us.
Find a creative hobby that feeds your soul and makes you light up from the inside out. Blow bubbles. Take a walk in the woods or a park. Play with a child and see the world from their perspective. The ideas are only limited by your imagination.
Don’t act old before your time. Enjoy your life. And enjoy the child within you.
It’s a new month. Are you making important changes to your life yet in this new decade?
Or are you complacent? Content with your lot in life. I hope not.
Change can be scary. People like their routines. They are familiar. And comfortable. But we need to constantly push ourselves in new directions to be our best selves and to live fully.
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
This year I’m resurrecting my writing career. I put it on hold seven years ago when I lost my husband after a very brief illness. Life descended on me. Suddenly I was in charge of keeping everything going. Talk about pushing me out of my comfort zone. But I did what I needed to do, and I learned a lot. However, there was no time to write. Only to do. To stay afloat.
But now I’m ready to stretch myself again with my writing. Yes, it’s scary. I’m rusty. Really rusty. Technology has moved forward in those seven years and things which were once fairly familiar to me have changed drastically. It’s a learning curve to get back up to speed. New writing packages. New ways of reaching readers. New resources which weren’t available years ago. It can seem daunting at times. But it’s also exciting.
Don’t let your fears sideline you. You are capable of achieving your dreams and desires. But you have to be willing to try.
If these last seven years have taught me one thing it is the fact that none of us are guaranteed the next moment. Life changes in the blink of an eye, the sigh of a breath. Why live a life of less than you deserve or want? Decide what will push you out of the familiar and into uncharted waters. Take that first step. Then push yourself further. It all starts with a dream. And idea. A goal. You can do it.
I challenge you today to make a commitment to yourself to try something new or to pick up something you put aside and give it another go. Don’t be satisfied with where you are in life. Reach for your dreams.
I’m a huge proponent of Dreaming Big. Set your goals out there beyond your current reach. Stretch yourself. Challenge your abilities. Refuse to limit yourself. Don’t settle for average or less than your very best. You have it in you to go far. To reach what you may have once thought was unattainable.
Write down your five Big Dream goals for 2020. Post them somewhere prominent where you will see them frequently. Imagine how you will feel when you reach your goals. See yourself achieving your desires.
Now decide what small steps you need to take for each of your big goals. Steps which will move you once step closer on your journey to success.
Maybe that means taking a class. Or doing research. Or honing a particular skill. Whatever you decide to do produces forward momentum. Each tiny goal achieved results in a step closer to your big goal. Your Big Dream.
What are you waiting for? Seize the opportunity. Our days are finite. Our dreams are limitless. Why wait another moment? Take that first step today. I guarantee each succeeding step will be easier.
Dream Big. Take the challenge. You won’t regret it. And that’s how we should all live – without regrets.
Kat Jorgensen 