Stretching That Comfort Zone

Where is your "Comfort Zone"?

Every person on Earth has a comfort zone, whether it be in their personal life and/or their business life. I define this zone as "the place where one feels safe that is devoid of challenges or threatening circumstances".

When in business, this zone can be the determining factor of whether one succeeds or fails. It is very easy to get locked into that which is comfortable to us and just try to work a business within those boundaries. But it doesn't work, it doesn't stretch us to better our business or become the successful, enlightened person most of us want to be.

Again I ask, where is your "Comfort Zone"?

What part of working your business makes you most uncomfortable?

Is it still being done anyway?

For some it, is picking up the phone and making that business contact, or writing their first newsletter or setting short and long term goals and sticking by them or revising them as things change. For others, it might be talking person-to-person trying to network, or writing a vision statement of where they eventually want to end up or even asking someone to be their mentor.

The first step to "stretching that comfort zone" is to replace the negative thought:

I can't...
I will fail...
Who will listen to me... They will just say no... I'm not a writer...
I'll make a fool of myself... and so on and so on......

With just the opposite:

I can...
I will succeed...
They might just listen and if they don't, well I'll move on to the next person... Hey, let's ask, they could say "yes"... I've never written anything before but I can give it a shot...
I will only make a fool of myself if I don't try...

Believe me, there is no quick fix here. It takes constant positive mind talk to get to the place where one's self- confidence and "I can do it" attitude kick in.

The second step after working on the mind, replacing those negative thoughts, is to take ACTION! The only true way to break out of that comfort zone is to do the thing in business that we want to constantly put off - possibly due to fear or lack of self-confidence. To coin the Nike phrase -- "Just Do It!".

Yes, it is easier said than done but how important is it to us to succeed in our businesses?

How important is it to us to make contact with the right kind of people?

How important is it to build a customer base or find the perfect partners?

To most, these things are very important but they will not be possible unless we are willing to do the things that are the most uncomfortable to each of us.

For me personally, the 2 major struggles were writing a newsletter and making phone contacts. With the newsletter, I had never written one and just didn't know where to start. After spending several days reviewing other online newsletters to get a feel for the formats that could be used, I made myself sit down and write one. I told myself I couldn't do anything else until it was done.

Because I did this mind talk and mentally prepared myself for the task, it was done in about 2 hours. I did, later, do some fine tuning but the point it I sat down and got it done.

With the phone calls, I told myself I had to make at least 5 calls before I could move on to other business issues. Right from the start, I found after the first 5, I wanted to make more. I still struggle from time to time pushing my comfort zone to make the first call but after that it gets easier.

What can you do today that would stretch you and be good for your business?

Sit down, make that call, write that newsletter, write down your goals, network your business or whatever it is that makes you uncomfortable (or may even scare you). Push yourself and do it now! Not only will it help you build your business but think how good you will feel afterwards to be able to say, "I did it and it wasn't so bad after all!"

Make a commitment to yourself to either once a day or once a week (depending on your schedule) to do at least one "uncomfortable" act to build your business and put you closer to succeeding.

STRETCH THAT COMFORT ZONE!!

Teri Mitchell is a stay-at-home mom with her own online business. She is committed to helping others succeed personally and in business. Visit her website at http://www.discountbenefits4u.com or email her: "mailto:terimitchell96@earthlink.net". To subscribe to her bi-monthly newsletter: "mailto:WMONews@quicktell.net"