Over the past year, I’ve been invited to dinners, lunches, events, etc. I accept the invitation with every intention to show up. Then I don’t. The comfort of my hiding zone has been winning the battle. I’ve let people down and disappointed them. Mostly, I have stifled myself.
Everyday there are things we want to do but don’t do. Great ideas compete with time and energy of the day. We make excuses for not doing the things we wanted to accomplish. There are actually scriptures in the Bible about it. Romans chapter 7, verse 18-19 state, “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do.” It doesn’t matter if you heed the words of the bible, a different belief or no belief at all, this statement rings true for us all.
Accepting the invitation
Let’s be real, accepting the invitation is the easy part. Showing up is the actual step needed. Today I showed up! I could have found 50 excuses to keep me from showing up but I didn’t. This time was different because I am committed to the comfort zone challenge. This commitment made the obstacles of the day seem inconsequential. Honestly, the challenge didn’t really feel like a challenge because of my commitment.
What I am realizing from the Comfort Zone Challenge
When you start challenging your comfort zone daily, there is only one result – GROWTH. The happiness I am experiencing with everyday of my challenge feels surreal. The challenges are not difficult and once I commit to them, they seem to be ‘normalized’. It is almost as if I am slowing moving my ‘comfortable complacency‘ box incrementally towards 10.
When I started this challenge a few days ago, it was to help ‘find’ myself again. Now that I have done it consecutively for only 5 days, the results are more than I could have imagined. With each day I am encountering people who see me as a successful professional. I had lost this image of myself for myself. And it is more than being seen as a ‘successful professional’. It is being seen as someone who is intelligent, compassionate and friendly.
Everyday that I challenge my comfort zone, I become stronger, happier, and more confident. Is this really the secret to success? One challenge a day? It seems so easy, too easy in fact.
As I stated in the first post, this isn’t science. This is my journey. Success isn’t defined by everyone as fame and glory. Success, to me, is about striving everyday to live my best life.
Thank you for coming along on the journey. I hope to see you tomorrow.
With love and gratitude,
Rachel
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