I recently went way out of my comfort zone to market my business. You will be hearing (seeing) all about it very soon. I’m going to be transparent with you. I lost sleep over this project. It brought up all of my ‘who do you think you are?’ insecurities and challenges. But, now that I did it, I feel euphoric.
When I work with people, we at some point face a challenge that is essential for them to grow and move forward. It is in our nature to keep things safe and predictable, but too much of that and we become stagnant. Like all living things, we need fresh stimulus to thrive. If life is not handing you enough challenges, then I recommend looking for some.
Here’s Why:
Opportunity to Release Old Stuff
If you think that you don’t have ‘issues,’ then I challenge you to sign up for something that is just outside your comfort zone. When my old insecurities and fears came up, I viewed them as opportunities to confront them. Yes, in past challenging times I failed, was hurt and I have been embarrassed. But, that is in the past. I am not back there. With this new challenge, I chose to love, encourage, support and praise myself before, during and after.
Expansion and Growth
Any new challenge hones the skills you already possess or it helps you develop new ones. Everything I learned during painful piano recital performances, while public speaking and working in customer service I instinctively drew upon. The new challenge awoke resources in me that I had forgotten about. I was able to add some new skills to my repertoire.
Altered View and New Possibilities
My perspective about myself has changed because of this particular challenge. As a result, I see everything and everyone else around me differently. This has given me the ability to see possibility where I thought none existed. Creativity has bubbled up from nowhere. I’ve become more excited about my life. I faced my fears and came away stronger, braver and filled with more compassion for myself and everyone else going through challenges.
If the very thought of doing something outside of your comfort zone causes you anxiety or if you instantly dismiss the thought, you are most likely suffering from past hurts and memories of failure and or rejection. In order to keep you from experiencing pain again, the mind protects you from any experiences that risk failure or rejection and tells you ‘don’t go there.’ Part of you has been frozen or stuck where you last failed or were hurt. It is vital that you get all parts of yourself operational. When you consciously face the fears that rise up when you are challenged, you can actively overwrite the old wounds. Maybe, your life has enough challenges without you having to go looking for them. Hopefully, reframing them as opportunities to overcome the past, expand, and be strengthened can help you through them.
Care to share how your challenge changed you? I’d love to hear it!
Is your challenge overwhelming? Email: coachjenniferwashington@gmail.com
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