I sit here on my covered patio watching the rain fall from the sky. This is a normal afternoon in South Florida. I become mesmerized by the rain and I have this vision in my head of me getting up, going outside and dancing in the rain. I laugh to myself for a moment and then say, “Why Not.” I decided not to think about the consequences and I began to dance in the rain. I felt so carefree stepping out of my comfort zone. The rain on my face as I looked up to the sky and the coolness of the breeze from a summer rain. Stepping out of my comfort zone was such a freeing experience.
It is an important concept to Challenge Yourself regularly. Challenging Yourself takes thought, making plans and spontaneity. I know personally that stepping out of my comfort zone does cause some form of anxiety and stress. I traveled to Costa Rica and signed up to do one of the most famous zip lines in the world. The problem with that was I am extremely afraid of heights. I had the zip line tour planned for my second day in the Country. I obsessed on it and was extremely anxious about going through with it. I knew that my husband really wanted to do it so I pushed myself. I wish I could truly express the fear I had as I stepped off of the ledge for the first zip line. I screamed at the top of my lungs yelling, “F-ck!” I completed the next seven zip lines with fear but more confident.
There is a Science and a chemical reaction that happens when we Challenge Ourselves. The most common awareness is that it gets your endorphins and serotonin levels flowing. This naturally elevates your mood and experience. Our brains are busy all day long with our routines of life. The brain thrives in this environment because it is steady and predictable. Staying in this frame of mind does not allow for the brain to be challenged and therefor not challenging you. In life we need this consistency just to get through the day. We all know that it makes our lives much easier when things are consistent. The reality of life is that things can’t always be predictable. There comes a point where this does not lead to your growth and increased performance. The goal of this piece is to make you identify that your brain needs a challenge every once in awhile to teach the brain that “Change can be good.” When change happens your brain can cope and it won’t get thrown off balance. Preparing your brain for challenges helps the brain to cope when unpredictable and unexpected life challenges occur.
I will share with you another stepping out of my Comfort Zone moment. My family was in Ireland. We completed a Game of Thrones Tour because many scenes from the series were filmed in Ireland. A scene from the series is when the actors cross a rope bridge. You guessed it I was about to step out of my Comfort Zone and challenge my fear of heights once again. My fear was palpable. My heart racing and my brain telling me, “Don’t do it, stay in your safe space.” The other side of my brain was saying, “You came all of this way from the USA and you may never be back here again. Are you really going to pass on this experience? You will be so disappointed in yourself.” Through a lot of self talk I slowly crossed the shaking and swaying ropes bridge. I screamed, “I F-cking did it!” All the people standing at the edge of the bridge laughed and yelled, “You did it but now you have to cross it to get back.” I didn’t think that far but of course I made it across one more time. I can’t truly express how proud I was of myself for stepping out of my Comfort Zone and Challenging Myself.
Of course I am not suggesting that you have to go to such extremes to Challenge Yourself. Everybody is an individual and you know what will personally Challenge you. Take note if you constantly work in your Comfort Zone you will never know what power you actually have within yourself. This whole exercise is to Train Your Brain for change. The more accustomed your brain is to change the more you will benefit from handling unexpected trauma, loss, change and hiccups in your daily life. Remember the brain is a muscle and like all muscles we must exercise this beautiful and magnificent brain. Muscle Memory dealing with change will create decreased anxiety and stressed.
There is something outstanding about stepping out of your Comfort Zone to Challenge Yourself and to prepare your brain for change in the future. Process this for a minute, you can Train Your Brian to experience new challenging activities and intern make yourself and your brain healthier. Science is astonishing and as individuals we have control over how we can make ourselves react to anxiety and stress in a healthier and more productive way,
Sit with this for a moment and think about how are you going to Challenge Yourself this summer. Take a listen to Episode 79 of my Podcast and we will discuss in depth ways for you to identify how to Challenge Yourself. Keep in mind Challenging Yourself can be spontaneous or planned. The great outdoors are waiting for you this summer. Go out and begin to explore just what your brain and body needs to Challenge Itself.
POSITIVE THOUGHTS ALWAYS CREATE POSITIVE ENERGY
GO OUT AND EXPLORE ALL OF THE WIDE OPEN SPACES IN YOUR WORLD
HAPPY SUMMER
CIAO
Ilise
