Venture Beyond Your Comfort Zone

[Rachel]

“Once you are honest with yourself about your real edge, it is best to lean just beyond it. Very few men have the guts for this practice. Your insecurity may cause you to doubt yourself, and so you take the easy way, not even approaching your real edge or your real gift.” – David Deida from the book The Way of the Superior Man 

Evolutionary speaking, we have been conditioned for thousands of years to fight for one thing: survival. The majority choose experiences in life, whether acknowledged or not, that require minimal risk. This helps maintain that illusion of being safe and secure. But that’s not living: that’s existing.

The only way to live is by experience. Experiences, whether exhilarating or regrettable, will bring value to your life and will bring you the lessons you need to develop. What holds you back? Fear. Having new or valuable experiences often means embracing fear and forcing yourself out of your comfort zone. Challenge your limits. 

There are times when life is going to force you out of your comfort zone, whether you like it or not. Your ability to be successful depends on leaning just beyond your edge: in everything you do. 

When is the last time you pushed the boundaries of your comfort zone?

[JR]

Love this post. I'll chime in:

I began working for an online entertainment company at a very young age. Having a bit of drive and determination, I contacted the owner of the business inquiring about a job shadowing position. He instead offered me an opportunity to work for him. I promptly accepted.

By working in this particular industry, I was able to network and form solid connections with some pretty notable people. Specifically, two guys who have worked on acclaimed movies like Smokin' Aces and, more recently, Now You See Me - as well as an individual who has hosted multiple television shows currently airing worldwide.

To much dismay, I lost the job. With it I lost the connections.

Two years passed and - after much learning, experience, and change - I formed MTT® with the hopes of inspiring other individuals to lead a more fulfilling life. The idea for our LivingRaw® podcast followed soon after. I was now left with the critical task of finding industry leaders who I believed to be living examples of success. The goal was to share their insights with the world. I was forced to step outside of my comfort zone and contact those individuals I hadn't spoken to in years.

I sent the messages. I made the calls. And the results followed. Sometimes, all it takes is a little drive and determination to overcome the fear of taking risks.

Find your vision then pursue the fuck out of it.

[mlckdee]

I regularly follow the blogs about manliness and leading a more fulfilling life and on the whole they can be quite good and interesting. However, my main beef with a lot of these postings is that they always fall back to the “10 easy ways to be a better man” or “10 simple steps to success.” I’ve always felt like success, achievement, accomplishment, victory all those things are not supposed to be easy, they are supposed to be hard and take a ton of hard work, commitment and dedication.

But I guess people don’t really want to read about that stuff. Everyone wants to become a better person or become successful but the want it the easy way. Maybe this is a community of individuals who want to do it the hard way. Maybe this is a place where lists with titles like “10 hard ways to become a better person” actually get legs.

[JR]

Dec 17, 2013 1:44:19 GMT -5 mlckdee said:

I regularly follow the blogs about manliness and leading a more fulfilling life and on the whole they can be quite good and interesting. However, my main beef with a lot of these postings is that they always fall back to the “10 easy ways to be a better man” or “10 simple steps to success.” I’ve always felt like success, achievement, accomplishment, victory all those things are not supposed to be easy, they are supposed to be hard and take a ton of hard work, commitment and dedication.

But I guess people don’t really want to read about that stuff. Everyone wants to become a better person or become successful but the want it the easy way. Maybe this is a community of individuals who want to do it the hard way. Maybe this is a place where lists with titles like “10 hard ways to become a better person” actually get legs.

Nailed it! We share exactly the same beef. Our site was specifically created to combat the mass appeal of self development, today. Everything has become watered down and the bullshit tends to outweigh the more valuable contributions. We want to be the guide for those truly seeking a more fulfilling life - not for the majority that occasionally need some motivation.

All in all, it sounds like you've reached the right place. We appreciate you taking the time to respond and look forward to reading more of your contributions! Keep kicking ass.

SIDE NOTE: Never hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. Thanks again.