Want Your Life to Improve? Change Now. Can't Change? Here's Why!
Let’s unlock the secrets behind the comfort zone, the self-concept, and a lot more
How do we (humans) progress?
If someone was to ask you, “how do we (humans) progress in life?” What would your answer be?
Think about it.
You don’t have to give me the “right answer”.
But even before you continue reading, at least getting your mind warmed up to accept what’s coming ahead, running your mind in the right direction will help you.
So, how do humans progress in life?
Let me nudge you in a particular direction and give you a hint.
How does a kid who’s good at playing a particular sport, end up becoming a world class sports star?
Will this kid just land up from the by lanes/ playground near his residence to the stadium and start playing the sport at an international level?
Not possible, right?
This kid will have to keep practicing, for years, keep getting better at the game, keep competing from one level to the next and after a decade-decade and a half, he/she will reach a stage where they can represent a team at the national/ international level.
In short, they will have to keep walking out of their comfort zone, again and again, and again.
The comfort zone
Let’s talk about the “comfort zone”.
The easiest way to explain the concept of the comfort zone is to say just one word.
And that word is IRONY.
It is unbelievable the amount of lives/ careers/ potential that have gone wasted because the most brilliant minds, talented people, gifted humans continued to stay in their comfort zone.
Comfort zone is when someone ends up accepting their status quo to be the best place to be in.
Moving ahead in life comes with its share of risks, uncertainties, unknown factors, fears, etc.
As a result of which, people tend to get committed to their status quo.
They settle for what they have.
They become content.
They stop challenging themselves.
Because technically, on paper…. “The idea of change is too scary, unsettling and overwhelming”.
Perils of not leaving the comfort zone
This is easier to explain when we bring back the example of the gifted child who is great at a particular sport.
How does a kid realise if they’re gifted at a particular sport?
When they play that sport with the other kids in the locality, right?
Now, let’s try to look at the bird's eye view of the journey of this kid going from playing in the local playground to representing their country on the national/ international level.
What would that journey look like?
The kid will have to be taken to a local sports academy where the kid will end up honing their skill, learning more about the sport by expanding their knowledge, by practicing the sport in presence of coach(es), by playing and competing with other kids who are learning from the same pedagogy, etc.
And this is just Level 01.
In short, the kid will get on to the journey of going out of their comfort zone multiple times.
From the local playground to the local sports coaching centre.
From the local coaching centre to competing with other teams from the same region (within the city)
From regional teams to competing with city wide teams and getting into a team that consists of the best players from a city.
Then the upgrades go from the city team to the statewide team to getting selected for smaller nationwide tournaments to progressing to semi-popular nationwide tournaments to getting picked by the selection committee to representing the national/ international team and becoming one of the best players in the country.
But then, let me remind you…
This is the journey of someone who WALKS OUT of their comfort zone multiple times.
If this kid chose status quo to be the best they could/ would do, they would end up being the best player in the society/ locality/ suburb.
One statement that I was introduced to when I became a coach that will stay with me for the rest of my life is, “If nothing changes, nothing changes. You choose what you have if you choose not to change it.”
If you choose to stay in your comfort zone, you’re choosing to live a life where your status quo will be maintained, and you will end up creating a version of your self-concept that will get solidified in your subconscious mind.
However, let me tell you, the life that we are living is going to keep getting brutal for those who refuse to change and upgrade their self-concept.
What’s self-concept?
Self-concept is the way you look at yourself.
How would you describe yourself to yourself (and the world)?
How do you feel about yourself in your thoughts?
What kind of words do you use to describe yourself, to yourself and the world?
If your self-concept is that you are content with your life, that’s what’s going to make you get stuck in your comfort zone once and for all.
Want to change your status quo?
Want to learn how to walk out of your comfort zone?
Change your self-concept, today!
Can anybody change?
The answer to this question is simple.
However, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it's “easy” (to implement).
Anybody who really wishes to improve the status quo of their life, unlock the abundance, live a better quality of life and/or lifestyle can and will change.
It’s all about wanting to upgrade the overall quality of your life.
Anybody who wishes to upgrade the quality of their life will work on improving their self-concept and will find ways to unlock paths to change; sooner than later.
Does change guarantee success?
In a way, asking this question is a detrimental exercise.
Let me explain why.
Wanting to adapt to change for a “guaranteed result” is unfair and futile.
You don’t change for guarantees of a better future.
You adapt to change to get out of the status quo where you’re feeling stuck and suffocated.
If you end up breaking the resistance, gaining even the slightest momentum and getting out of your comfort zone (which is guaranteed), you’ve already won.
The finishing line of any change is the outcome of the journey.
The probability of crossing the finishing line and achieving the desired outcome is much higher when you actually take the effort of walking out of your comfort zone.
Also, chances the overall quality of your life deteriorating should you choose to stay within your comfort zone is a definite guarantee.
Now, the choice and the decision are in your court.
Your Turn!
First things first, thank you for reading this post all the way till the end.
Did these words give your ideas to think and ponder upon?
Do you agree to the sentiment, the mindset and the logic shared in the post?
Do you think it's possible to grow in life without walking out of your comfort zone?
Let's continue this conversation (or ask your questions about the post) in the comments below.
Keep Going Keep Growing 🚀
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Prompt used to create the image for the note
P.S.: Image made on Meta AI using the prompt, “Imagine a person in their mid 40s being really unhappy as they attend the reunion seeing everyone else has progressed and they're still stuck 20 years in the past”