by Cathy Holloway Hill
We are natural creatures of habit, and we crave order and stability in our lives. However, the only effective method for achieving your goals and to accomplish personal growth is to move beyond your comfort level. Just as your body needs consistent exercise to remain healthy, your life needs consistent change in order to grow beyond your typical routine. We’ve all heard the adage, if you continue to do the same thing; you will continue to get the same results.
Understanding how to push yourself beyond your fears and outside of the comfortable security of your everyday life is as necessary as it is difficult. In all aspects of our lives, there are things we fear and feel uncomfortable doing because we don’t like stepping out of our comfort zone. You must learn how to push yourself beyond your own edge – the point at which you gasp with fear. Your edge is that moment when fear rises in your chest, your heart pounds and your breathing quickens. When you get to that point, take a deep breath, focus, and plunge ahead, whether it’s that last step off the edge before bungee jumping, telling someone how you feel, or letting loose on the dance floor. It’s time to point your life in the direction you want to go instead of just sitting around waiting for death to show up!
“Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.”
– Kenichi Ohmae
In my workshops, I ask attendees what are their dreams and aspirations. Most of the time, I am met with blank stares. We all have dreams whether we know it or not. When we sleep at night, we can’t stop ourselves from dreaming – it’s natural. We also have deep desires and dreams for our lives. We must dig deep inside to uncover those dreams.
We’re all going after something – its part of being alive. As long as we’re living and acting, we are headed towards something. Even if we don’t want to live, we’re going towards our goal (yes, death is a goal!). Our lives are going somewhere. We’re caught up in the stream of living and we’ll end up somewhere.
Luckily for us, we have some say about where we can end up. Sure, we all die in the end, but we have the ability to decide what is important and make choices towards that end. Your life is too important to live by accident and leave to chance!
