Ask Bob Lampard

Expanding Your Comfort Zone - Simple, Effective Strategies

It can be a good thing when you find your comfort zone. Everyone likes a place where they can feel safe. However, sometimes your comfort zone will limit you. You might be missing out on opportunities without even knowing that you’re missing out!

Expanding your comfort zone can bring a whole new world of excitement, passion, experiences, friends, financial opportunities, and knowledge into your life. To take advantage of these benefits, the first thing you must do is embrace change.

Life is full of changes. When you get into the habit of finding the good in every change, you become more comfortable with the idea of change itself, and look forward to the new adventures that lie ahead. With this mindset, you’re ready, willing, and able to expand your comfort zone.

Try these effective techniques to help you break free of the limits of your comfort zone:

1.      Think positive thoughts. When you’re living in a bubble, and that bubble breaks, you’ll most likely feel fear. When you’re scared, focus on thinking more positive thoughts. Instead of thinking about what could go wrong, think about what could go right. Have faith that this new opportunity will bring you to a new, comforting place.

2.      Use your imagination. By only staying where you’re familiar, you’re actually limiting your imagination. Starting from now, try to exercise your mind. Stretch it to envision doing new things you never considered before.

·        Try some new activities. Invariably, you’ll find some you enjoy and these will be added to your repertoire of experiences you find comfortable, thus expanding your comfort zone.

3.      Take small steps. One of the most important tips when it comes to expanding your comfort zone is to tread lightly. If you expect too much too soon, you may shock yourself and go running back to your bubble. Feel free to take even the smallest of steps.

·        Each step forward is just that: a step forward. These steps will add up to something big as long as you keep trying.

4.      Do something new. You don’t have to do anything terribly exciting or even have any expectations about the results. Just do something you’ve never done before. Even trying a new restaurant or taking a different route to work will help. Do something differently each day, and soon you’ll be looking forward to your daily adventure!

5.      Accept help. If you ask your friends and family for help, they’ll likely be there for you. Have them help you if you’re feeling uncomfortable in a new situation. They might just alleviate your stress while you’re expanding your comfort zone.

6.      Meet new people. Be open to accepting new friends and acquaintances. Strike up casual conversations with people around you. You never know when you might be able to form a new relationship with someone. Your new friends will help you expand your comfort zone by bringing their friends and new ideas into your life.

Remember that there are no set rules. Your main goal is to be happy with your life. If you’re happy in your comfort zone, you don’t have to expand it aggressively against your wishes. However, if staying within your own bubble may cause you regret because of missed opportunities, then try these easy strategies to help you grab all the gusto you can out of life!

Bob Lampard

Life is like a road. There are long and short roads; smooth and
rocky roads; crooked and straight paths. In our life many roads
come our way as we journey through life. There are roads that
lead to a life of single blessedness, marriage, and religious
vocation. There are also roads that lead to fame and fortune on one
hand, or isolation and poverty on the other. There are roads to
happiness as there are roads to sadness, roads towards victory and
jubilation, and roads leading to defeat and disappointment.

Just like any road, there are corners, detours, and crossroads in
life. Perhaps the most perplexing road that you would encounter is
a crossroad. With four roads to choose from and with limited
knowledge on where they would go, which road will you take? What is
the guarantee that you would choose the right one along the way?
Would you take any road, or just stay where you are: in front of a
crossroad?

There are no guarantees.

You do not really know where a road will lead you until you take
it. There are no guarantees. This is one of the most important
things you need to realize about life. Nobody said that choosing to
do the right thing all the time would always lead you to happiness.
Loving someone with all your heart does not guarantee that it would
be returned. Gaining fame and fortune does not guarantee happiness.
Accepting a good word from an influential superior to cut your trip
short up the career ladder is not always bad, especially if you are
highly qualified and competent.  There are too many possible
outcomes, which you really cannot control. The only thing you have
power over is the decisions that you will make, and how you would
act and react to different situations.

Wrong decisions are always at hindsight.

Had you known that you were making a wrong decision, would you have
gone along with it? Perhaps not. Why would you choose a certain
path when you know it would get you lost? Why make a certain
decision if you knew from the very beginning that it is not the
right one. It is only after you have made a decision and reflected
on it that you realize its soundness. If the consequences or
outcomes are good for you, then you have decided correctly.
Otherwise, your decision was wrong.

Take the risk: decide.

Since life offers no guarantee and you would never know that your
decision would be wrong until you have made it, then you might as
well take the risk and decide. It is definitely better than keeping
yourself in limbo. Although it is true that one wrong turn could
get you lost, it could also be that such a turn could be an
opportunity for an adventure, or even open more roads. It is all a
matter of perspective. You have the choice between being a lost
traveller or an accidental tourist of life.  But be careful that
you do not make decisions haphazardly. Taking risks is not about
being careless and stupid. Here are some pointers that could help
you choose the best option in the face of life’s crossroads:

- Obtain as much information as you can about your situation.

You cannot find the confidence to decide when you know so little
about what you are faced with. Just like any news reporter, ask the
5 W’s: what, who, when, where, and why. What is the situation? Who
are the people involved? When did this happen? Where is this
leading? Why are you in this situation? These are just some of the
possible questions to ask to know more about your situation. This
is important. Oftentimes, the reason for indecision is the lack of
information about a situation.

- Identify and create options.

What options does the situation give you? Sometimes the options are
few, but sometimes they are numerous. But what do you do when you
think that the situation offers no options? This is the time that
you create your own. Make your creative mind work. From the most
simplistic to the most complicated, entertain all ideas. Do not
shoot anything down when an idea comes to your head. Sometimes the
most outrageous idea could prove to be the right one in the end.
You can ask a friend to help you identify options and even make
more options if you encounter some difficulty, but make sure that
you make the decision yourself in the end.

- Weigh the pros and cons of every option.

Assess each option by looking at the advantages and disadvantages
it offers you. In this way, you get more insights about the
consequences of such an option.

- Trust yourself and make that decision.

Now that you have assessed your options, it is now time to trust
yourself. Remember that there are no guarantees and wrong decisions
are always at hindsight.  So choose… decide… believe that you are
choosing the best option at this point in time.

Now that you have made a decision, be ready to face its
consequences: good and bad. It may take you to a place of promise
or to a land of problems. But the important thing is that you have
chosen to live your life instead of remaining a bystander or a
passive audience to your own life. Whether it is the right decision
or not, only time can tell. But do not regret it whatever the
outcome. Instead, learn from it and remember that you always have
the chance to make better decisions in the future.

 Bob Lampard

Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Please tell us what you think.

“What nasty remarks could be stopping you from trying something new?”

As a child were you ever told you couldn’t sing, or dance or do something? Or worse, were you laughted at and teased when you tried to do something?

Did that unpleasant experience put you off doing that activity again, even though it might have been something you loved?

It happened to me. I loved singing- until the day the whole holiday camp laughted at me when I was singing my own, very tuneful version of “Baby I Don’t Care” and I never sang in public again.

My eldest daughter, Helen, had a similar experience with Art at school. She was told she could not draw, her pictures were out of proportion and she was doing it all wrong. She was made to feel thoroughly useless at Art and Drawing.

So, when I suggested she redesign my pub’s signpost at the request of the brewery, Helen’s enthusiasm level was not very high.

She gave it a try, fully expecting it to be rejected. Judging by her face when it was finished, I thought it had been a really bad idea. However, the brewery loved it and commissioned it to be made.

She has taken a real shine to drawing and design and found she has a natural talent for it.

What negative experience from childhood could be stopping you from doing something that would give you real pleasure?

Bob Lampard