Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
This is where the biggest and most rewarding opportunities exist, the question is do you have enough faith to walk on the weaker branches in the hopes that you may find what you truly desire? It takes great risk to gain a greater sense of freedom and happiness and even though I know this I sometimes hesitate to step ahead and away from the safety net that I prefer. That safety net provides me with stability but not unlimited movement and it’s within the unlimited movement that an abundance of options and opportunities are waiting for me.
It’s crazy to think how easy it is to talk ourselves out of an opportunity that can ultimately change our lives in so many ways but I’ve done it, so I know it’s possible. The reason I believe we sometimes talk ourselves out of pursuing something we desire is because “what if I can’t do it” or “what if I fail”. The truth is it isn’t actually failure, we are meant to try but we aren’t always meant to succeed because it’s through that attempt that we find an inner strength that is needed to serve us in another endeavor, one we may not have gained otherwise.
I like to think of these instances as creative mistakes, mistakes that help point us in the direction we are supposed to be heading. It’s as simple as searching for a friend’s home and turning down the wrong street, would you think you failed if you did that? Not likely, you would just think “Geez, went down the wrong street”, now how do I get there from here? The reason it is so minimal when it’s in that context is because going down the wrong street isn’t a big issue because there isn’t a huge emotional investment in searching for a friend’s home but there is in say a career choice or matters of the heart. Of course the bigger goals and dreams will definitely carry a bigger emotional attachment because there is so much more riding on it and I can totally relate.
The biggest indication for me that I am on the verge of a great opportunity is that I feel like I am scaring myself and sometimes that vulnerability can impair the courage that drives me forward but I know that I need to feel that so I can learn to trust and believe in myself.
My moment of truth in making the conscious decision to step outside of my comfort zone more than I stay in it will create the shift that will open up my world to a beauty that is beyond what I can imagine.
Not everything occurs as we may hope, believe or expect and if we knew the outcome of every experience we were in then I don’t think we would truly experience it as we are meant to. All experiences that occur in our lives are there to teach and help us grow into the life we are meant to live. If you aren’t living the life you want or desire, venture out onto the weaker branches as far as you can bring yourself to go, it is there where the best fruit is waiting for you!
We are all given the necessities that we require to achieve what we desire. If you never try you will never know what you could really accomplish!
Imagine, Believe, Achieve!
Danielle Navonne
April 19, 2013 at 8:06 am
Love this, Shelley. I read another quote recently that reminded me that if I’m never willing to do anything that may bring failure, essentially that means I’m never willing to do anything new. I’m definitely working on changing how I see “failure,” and realizing that it comes with the territory of trying new things, wanting something different, etc.
shelleyhallmark
April 20, 2013 at 12:19 am
Thanks Danielle! I used to put too much emphasis on the times when things wouldn’t go the way I expected and viewed it as failure but when I “changed the way I looked at things, the things I looked at changed” – Wayne Dyer it was amazing how different my take on failure became. I no longer view it as failure because how else would we be able to find the right path if obstacles didn’t prevent us from going down the wrong ones. It’s not failure, it’s the universe giving us a little help when needed. Try everything you want to, don’t hold back, nothing is failure, only options. As always, love hearing from you, you always inspire further thought for me. 🙂
Danielle Navonne
April 24, 2013 at 10:09 am
Aw, Thanks, Shelley – I look forward to your next post!!! 🙂