Your Most Comfortable Comfort Zone

Have you ever wanted to make a change in your life and had the thought on a number of occasions but it still hasn't happened? Have you ever wanted to completely de-clutter your home; re vamp your kitchen; change your career or change the style or colour of your hair but found that 10 years later, it's still the same?

Have you ever sat in front of the hairdresser and when asked what you want to have done today you say “same as always please” when you know that what you really want is a complete new look.

So why do we keep things the same? Forgetting to stop off at the kitchen showroom on your way home from work; forgetting to pick up those bin bags at the supermarket to organise your home; delaying that meeting which could potentially change the direction of your career and avoiding making the time to research great new hairstyles, are all ways of keeping ourselves in our comfort zones without realising it. 

We like our comfort zone, it feels familiar and safe. Change means effort as it's new and takes up more of our energy. It's surprising how it makes us feel. Even a change such as changing the style or colour of your hair. We have been used to wearing the same same look for years and moving away from what we are used too and moving towards something new, is scary.

If we find ourselves fearing change, then is it a positive thing? Is it not easier to stay with what you know? It can be daunting looking through endless colour charts and carpet samples whilst matching the soft furnishing including pictures, lampshades and door furniture that will all be necessary to complete the new look.

The thought of trawling the Internet or trekking around the shops allows us to come up with excuses of why we don't really need to bother. So you leave things as they are for another week, another month which soon slips into another year.

But if something inside of you wants to make a change and that feeling is a stronger feeling than the other side of you that is attempting to hold you back, then you have a choice. Whether it's a small change like changing the colour scheme of your bathroom or larger changes like changing your image or your hairstyle or even larger changes like changing your entire outlook on life. You have a choice whether you leave things as they are or make the necessary steps to change.

But think about this, everyday when you wake up and your work is exciting and something you love to do through making that positive change in your career; every time you walk past a shop window and see a glimpse of yourself with your new sexy haircut; every time to return home from work to a well ordered home with the kitchen of your dreams... then you'll be glad you were brave enough to make the change happen.

Whats holding you back now? What excuses are you making? What are you afraid of?

Next weeks blog... See the finished results of my latest project - the renovation of  an apartment!

Where to Start?

Have you ever had an idea, a project or something that you know you want to do but it seems like there is a mountain in front of you? A destination you want to reach but you have no idea of the route? Have you found yourself putting it off until tomorrow to avoid making a start or let other unimportant or familiar tasks take over so that you don't have to actually begin. At University, it may be the essay that you know you need to write but you keep delaying the start of; at work it could be the report your boss has asked for but you find another email to respond to or you take another tea break to prolong the start, at home its the new exercise regime you want to learn about and adopt or the business you have always dreamt of starting but you just don't know where to start. Making a start can be the hardest part and being brave enough to make the changes necessary to achieve your goal or complete your project means some changes may need to happen.

A way to encourage yourself is to imagine at the beginning how great you will feel after completing the essay; handing the report to your boss; fitting in your favourite jeans; finishing the project or building your business. Think about all that you have now that will help you start, such as your confidence, your creative skills or your sales skills and your drive, your vision and your determination.

Think of the end game and work backwards, work out the smaller steps you can take to help you to break the project down. A project isn't as daunting when its broken down into smaller tasks and you can see yourself ticking off the smaller wins along the way. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was any great project; masterpiece, work of art, business or anything of value. The first task maybe to make a call to the friend, colleague or lecturer for information on that article or journal which would help you with the essay or is it a recommendation you need for a builder, an architect or the right property agent. Is it attending your first gym class or making that important first phone call. If there is something which you feel you need to improve on, then get that down on your list as one of your small wins such as signing up for that speaking course or signing up for a sales course.

Being pushed out of your comfort zone is exciting and takes you out of the familiar. It can feel scary and daunting initially but when you make that start and you see smaller tasks being completed along the way, the feeling of satisfaction within yourself that you are moving forward helps to bring on more progress and more success. So if it is the course you need to sign up to, the new exercise class you need to start attending or that first phone call that you need to make, its about making that first step and making a start.

So what are you waiting for... make that start today!