Today’s post is part 2 of a 10 part series: “10 Ways to Conquer Your Comfort Zone”

Now that you know your enemy, its time to go to work. The following series of posts will contain ideas for beating, outsmarting, confusing, tricking (call it what you will) your routine so that it will begin to lose its control. After all, comfort zones serve one singular purpose…to protect us from the unknown and to keep us from experiencing anything other than what is “normal.” Life is too short for normal so let’s get on with idea number one.

Magicians are incredible. Are you as fascinated by a good magic trick as I am? I continue to fall for the fake even though I know it is misdirection that creates the awe inside of me! So let’s isolate the “fake” and talk about how we can use the tactic to overcome our comfort. Remember my message in that character growth begins where comfort ends. How could you make like a magician and misdirect your comfort zone? Could you start with a simple mind game? Could you pretend that your preferences were actually opposite of your intuition? Let’s examine a couple scenarios that pertain to faking it.

Let’s use exercise to begin. We all know that the best workout plan involves both cardiovascular and strength training. Personally, I love swimming, cycling and running but hate to lift weights. You could say that my physical fitness comfort zone rests in cardiovascular activity. Rather than continuing on the same path each day I could drop a weight-lifting session in the middle of my week. That would definitely violate my comfort zone and could be considered a fake.

How about that big presentation you are preparing for? Let’s say that your preference is to use a powerpoint deck for illustrations. What do you think would happen if you decided to go without this next time? Would you feel uncomfortable in the planning phase…no question? Would you stress out over what is yet to be determined (the actual reaction of the boss or audience)…probably so. Here’s my advice, do it anyway and tell yourself that it is going to the best presentation that you have EVER made.

Hey, you know what they say….FAKE IT ‘TILL YA MAKE IT!

Your comfort zone doesn’t stand a chance!