The comfort zone is undoubtedly cozy, hence the name. “A Ship is always safe at shore but that is not what it was built for.” Albert Einstein. Today’s video looks at the fear associated with stepping out of the comfort zone and the beauty found of the other side of that fear.
I was recently talking to a good friend of mine who is an entrepreneur and has been running his own online business for the last ten years.
You see, my friend has gained success in building his business selling products online, and building a platform based on text and courses. In one of our conversations a few months ago, it was clear that he was really kind of stuck.
Even though his business was growing and he was getting more people involved, the fulfillment wasn’t being experienced. What came up was that he wanted to connect with people in a completely different way than he had been doing before. So he wanted to be able to do live videos.
Pushing Past the Fear
This right there, wanting to show up in a completely different way, is about changing up and going on to the next level! For him, the next level was the place around where he was stuck. He was asking himself: “Am I ready to be seen again? Am I ready to be seen in this light?”
What was showing up was: “Do I trust myself to just get in front of a camera, and have that be okay? I know when I write I’m able to sit down and edit and use the opportunity to cultivate an image of myself. However, but can I really go out in front of the people from the video and just express myself, share what is on my mind and really be seen?”
It wasn’t really about creating the video, but about, “Can I be seen?” It was about being able to start integrating that video into his business.
The Other Side of the Coin
We had a session discussing it and as I served him on it, he realized for himself that, part of his success comes from just following what works for him. Just letting go of all the heaviness around it. It got to the point where he finally got it: “I’ve done this before in multiple ways and multiple versions!”
I am happy because he was sharing his gratitude, what he has accomplished in the last few months. How phenomenon it has been as a result of being able to let go of a need to look a certain way, and actually just being seen along the way!
He did go ahead to create his first video, put it on YouTube, and has been growing his subscriber list on a regular basis! The text he puts on there now drives more people to those YouTube videos – more views and subscribers in the past months!
The Fruits of Living Past the Comfort
That isn’t even what excites me because that has been going on for months. What excited me was how he was able to once again experience what it is like to be a subject matter expert.
It is five months since we talked about the first video and what it took to be seen in a different way. It has come far beyond where that initial conversation started: it is more than just being seen but now he is able to create.
The reason I decided to share this with you, is because he said; “Niiamah, I’m so excited, every night that it is hard for me to go to sleep! I’m just so excited by the things I am doing.”
It wasn’t about him making the video, no, it was about whether or not he trusted himself to really be seen. Whether or not he trusted himself to go out and create, on the fly….to pursue a totally new way of being seen in the world.
Choosing to allow yourself to be seen
There is something there, about the trust area. I get it because there is that idea of how I am supposed to look. How am I supposed to make sure that when I show up in a new way I bring more of myself into the equation?
In his case, it was just the physical face, but for a lot of us, it is different things. For me, it is playing with speaking and sharing stories in a way that I haven’t done in the past. I’m playing with if I’m going to allow myself to be vulnerable enough here. He is playing with, the idea of living with the problem of living in the problem. (June didn’t understand the underlined part…)
Through that phone conversation, I got a chance to see what is on the other side of getting out of your comfort zone. Not even getting out of your comfort zone, but living outside of your comfort zone.
Consider this
You will allow more of yourself to be seen if you can allow yourself to let go.
Ask yourself: what would be different in your life, business, career if you were to get rewards:
- Not in spite of who you are but because of whom you are
- Because you gave people a chance to see you as you are stepping out of your comfort zone
I would love to start a conversation around it. It is important for a pioneer to be seen stepping out of our comfort zone.
- We might be rejected
- We might not be accepted
- It feels very real when it is about your money, livelihood, and sense of being connected to other people
But then again: what if stepping out of the comfort zone and really being seen, brought you more abundance, connection, and joy?
Leave a comment down in the box below wherever you are. On to your next frontier… Journey on!
