A Comfort Zone Busted
Posted on October 08, 2014 by Nancy Beaton, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
Have you ever wondered why you can't see the possibilities and choices in your life? Where do you sit within your comfort zone?
Hooked up with a friend recently, and was curious about a major conversation we had back in July. I’ll call her Jane to keep her identity confidential.
A few days after this initial conversation with Jane came her comment, “You took me way out of my comfort zone!”
Coaching Hat Cringe
In the midst of that conversation, I instinctively put my coaching hat on and took her on a journey of why she wasn’t taking action to find the answers she needed.
There is a major health factor that now keeps Jane from working, ever. And her insurance company was regularly sending her notices about when she would be able to return to work. There was apparently some sort of deadline. Stress and anxiety took over her whole being.
At first I cringed, thinking I had over-stepped my bounds because she sounded quite put off by the very idea of having to deal with this issue. As I left Jane that day, she was to take a couple of days and sit with her dilemma and observe what possibilities and choices were within her to create the lifestyle she ultimately wanted.
Nice & Tidy Lifestyle – Busted
As I took her on her journey, she began to feel like she was bursting out of her comfort zone. In fact, she even admitted recently that she went to great lengths to create a nice, tidy comfort zone environment, thinking it was going to stay this way forever.
My questions to Jane were,
“How could you take control over this situation you are facing?”
“If you had to go back to work, what are you capable of doing?”
“If you simply don’t see yourself going back to work, what can you do to keep the lifestyle you are now enjoying?”
It was these very questions that ‘made’ Jane leave her comfort zone; but necessary so she could expand her imagination and come up with the possibilities, and then take action with them.
Discomfort Creates Lifestyle
Oh, Jane was upset with me for a few days, thinking I was the cause of her discomfort. In reality, she let fear and uncertainty take over. Her current lifestyle was being threatened. And how dare I take her to a place where she had to come up with her own plan – to take control of her own life. Jane was quite cozy in her comfort zone box.
Jane’s homework was to mind map her choices and options, and to take some time and discover her own possibilities. Once that was accomplished, Jane had to step through her fear and uncertainty even more and take the action she needed to get what she wanted.
Hit on the Head Got Results
As Jane looks back, this was exactly the ‘hit on the head’ she needed to secure her future. Jane now is set with the life she wants. All the necessary red tape and paperwork required is complete. She doesn’t have to go back to work. And she is now looking into volunteer opportunities.
Jane seems more complete again, and now realizes that working so hard to squeeze her self into a comfort zone, and hope it doesn’t burst, isn’t the answer to living the life she wants. As it was, her comfort zone did burst, leaving her dazed and confused, wondering what had just happened.
Possibilities & Choices Spill Out
I want to thank Jane for allowing me to be part of her journey. It reminds me of my own comfort zone(s). Thinking we can live in a world we comfortably create, in my opinion, is truly inhibiting us from expanding and growing. We shut off all possibilities and opportunities.
To me, it has become all about taking our lives one step at a time. And with each step, take a good look around and see what is out there. We live in a world where possibilities and choices are spilling out all around us. Simply grab one of them and see where it can take you. Then grab another and another and begin to build the life you want.
To your possibilities and choices!
NancyBea
An Invitation: If you are feeling like it’s time to burst out of your comfort zone, then I invite you to join me for a telephone conversation and experience a complementary life coaching session. You may reach me at info@nancybeacoaches.com, or visit my website at nancybeacoaches.com
