STRETCHING OUR COMFORT ZONES

Everyone knows that the more warm and relaxed a runner's muscles are before he begins running a race, the greater the ease he will have in running that race. He warms up by doing various exercises to stretch out his muscles; if he fails to do this, it is not very likely that he will win any races. Stretching is not usually fun for the runner, but it is very beneficial and vital for success!

Stretching is also essential in other areas of life–even when we are not going to be running a marathon any time soon. I am talking about stretching out our comfort zones.

Stretching out of our comfort zones is not something most of us enjoy because we like our old comfortable ways, and we don't like pain. Sometimes we get lazy, and it's easier to keep doing the same old stuff in the same way. We lose our focus, our priorities get out of whack, and we get to the point where we need something or someone to thrust us out of our usual way of thinking and operating if we are ever to get out of the rut we are in.

When we are stretched, it forces us to think differently, operate with new mindsets, and achieve more with healthier attitudes about time and the preciousness thereof. Stretching out of our comfort zones brings about much-needed change, and change is a great motivator.

Periodically in the business world, I decide to "rebuild" my business from the bottom up. After thirty-some years of operating with many of the same attitudes, processes, thinking, and systems, I find this decision always forces me to stretch out of my comfort zones to look at things and make changes where needed. Stretching has been incredibly good for me and usually adds to the bottom line in record-breaking sales.

Though I have made radical shifts in the past, I find with each new step out of my comfort zone, I am able to stretch myself more than I previously thought possible. My point is this: Each of us has much more potential than at first we might think we do. We must keep stretching, keep changing, and keep growing. It's refreshing and feels so good!

Let me encourage you to stretch more than you ever thought possible. Allow it to happen; cause it to happen. Fasten your seat belt and hang on! Stretch like a rubber band being pulled hard from both ends. I guarantee it'll be the joy ride of your life when you make the decision to stretch your comfort zone!