Leaving Our Comfort Zone

by Barbara Wright Sykes

        We all have a safe haven, or a place inside of us with a voice that tells us everything is okay. We set boundaries or parameters on how close people can get to us. We know instinctively just what activities we can do with little or no effort. We have rituals which we perform in our daily lives that make us feel secure. We reserve parts of our lives from others in order to escape being judged. These are all ways in which we stay in our comfort zone. These are actions that are familiar to us and therefore bring us a great deal of comfort and security. As long as we aren’t forced to leave our comfort zone, our pulse and blood pressure remain normal; we aren’t victims of stress, and happily—life goes on as normal.

The moment we are faced with change in our equilibrium, we begin to panic. Now we must introduce new activities and responsibilities that do not fit into our comfortable lifestyle. The old issues of doubt, fear and procrastination begin to surface. Immediately we fear our ability to succeed, and doubt that we could, even if we tried. So what do we do? We retreat—we simply put things off, and in some instances we do nothing at all.

 In order to make ourselves feel better about our behavior, we rely on our excuses. Better yet, we lie to ourselves to give credence to the fact that we are procrastinating. How can we move past this debilitating behavior? It is imperative that we  institute change. When implementing change, we must give ourselves a specified amount of time to change, and if we do not make the transformation, then we must examine our circumstances and determine whether or not professional help is needed.

Another method would be to start by analyzing the problem. Set goals for change and take small steps in your goal plan that are attainable. Once you succeed in your initial efforts, give yourself praise and reward. Recall your victories to help you move forward through the list of goals, so that change becomes imminent. This constant reminder of your successes is reinforcement that you can do it; you can set goals and implement a plan of action. Before you know it, your new behavior will take on the attributes that you desire. You will feel secure with new activities and responsibilities. As a result, you become comfortable stretching yourself to new expectations.

 Just knowing that you are qualified, capable and able to make great strides is enough to catapult you into new and uncharted territory. You will gain such confidence in your accomplishments, that you will cease to fear change. You will no longer look upon your old comfort zone as status quo. You will begin to welcome change as a new and refreshing frontier, and the best part is you will no longer be held hostage by procrastination.

Excerpt from her book Overcoming Doubt, Fear and Procrastination.

Barbara Wright Sykes is a nationally known author, speaker and President of Barbara Wright and Associates, a business consulting firm. Ms. Sykes was awarded the prestigious honor of International Woman Of The Year.