Ready to Stretch

In my latest article “7 clues you are ready to stretch out of your comfort zone” I talk about how our comfort zone is a space or structure we build/create that surrounds us and is filled with all that is familiar.  Our safe place that help us feel grounded and secure in the world.  There are times in each of our lives when we outgrow our current comfort zone.  Here are the clues that let me know when I was at the edge of mine – ready to step through it.

I began questioning the impact I was having in my life and work.

After a tragedy in my family, I started to question my life and where it was going.  What difference was I making?  These questions helped me take a closer look at my work and at myself to see what worked, what didn’t, what was missing and where I was compromising too much of myself – especially how I was holding myself back.  Slowly the questions turned to answers.

I started paying attention to the pull I had been feeling to live in a different environment.

For years I felt the pull to another place, another lifestyle and environment.  Inside I had ideas of what it looked like and felt like.  The pull got stronger as the years went by until it was so strong I decided to take action to stretch.  My husband felt the pull too – and once that happened, the joint force pulled us through our fear.

What are your signs?

Giving Thanks

Since this week is Thanksgiving, I thought it fitting to focus todays post on not only being thankful for what we have, but taking the time to thank others for what they gave us this year. 

The thanks could be in any form we want – a phone call, e-mail, card or letter.  The vehicle does not matter, the acknowledgement is what does matter.  What can we thank others for?   For being there when we needed them, for sharing some bit if information that was helpful, for thinking of us, for lending a hand, an ear or a boost.   That is just scratching the surface. 

Who are you thankful for?

How will you thank them?

The Right Shoes

I have been wearing the same gym shoes for 2 years now.  Yes I know, that is way too long but time just flew by.

Wondering why my feet were hurting made me realize just how long it had been with these same shoes, so I asked fellow class members at the gym what kind of shoes they wore.  Both said cross trainers of one brand or another.  I wondered whether that’s what I was wearing and learned that no, I had been wearing running shoes this whole time!  The wrong shoes for the workout classes I have been taking 4 times a week! 

No wonder my feet were hurting!  I went shopping that same night and thanks to a knowledgable salesperson and my finally asking, I learned the difference.  What a differerence the right shoes make in my workouts!

This lead me to wonder how often we are “wearing the wrong shoes” in different areas of our life and what the “right shoes” could be.   In your career the right shoes could be the environmental conditions in which you thrive such as having a manager whose style meshes with yours or using your strengths and talents to the best of their ability.  The right shoes in your personal life might be aligning your life with your values or getting involved with a cause you belive in.

I would love to hear some examples of your right shoes!