Today’s post is part 3 of a 10 part series: “10 Ways to Conquer Your Comfort Zone”

I live for the element of surprise! Fortunately my wife is an adventurer and regularly rolls with the punches! Do you know that I didn’t reveal the destination of our honeymoon until we were halfway there? Seriously, I told her on the connecting flight after we had left our home! How did I pull that off? Well, other than the fact that she was incredibly open-minded; I simply worked with one of her close friends who helped me back her bags!

There is so much wonder that results from surprise. Think about the biggest surprises in your life, I bet it won’t take long. I am confident that you remember every detail as it most definitely resonated with your imagination. Your feelings and emotions were aroused as you were sucked into the moment of enthusiasm. You smiled, you laughed, you cried and a powerful memory was created forever.

So how does surprise help with overcoming monotony? Well, let’s consider post #1 in this series when we assigned a name to our comfort zones. For matters of this post and the application of surprise, lets use eating lunch as an example. Let’s say that you are in the practice of bringing your lunch to work. Each day you pack the same foods and eat at the same time in the same area with the same people. Routine, routine, routine…nothing surprising about this scenario.

What would think about surprising your taste buds and your co-workers at the same time? Today is Friday so morale tends to be a bit higher, doesn’t it? Today I ask you to surprise yourself by leaving your lunch at home. When you arrive in your office pick four co-workers (not the ones you think of immediately) and send a mass email proposing lunch at the restaurant across the street. As the hour approaches, resist the urge to practice routine. Now that its lunch time, get up from your desk and do what you said you were going to do…meet your co-workers in the lobby. Baby steps…

Now that you are all gathered and ready for lunch, explain your strategy and watch the wonder take position on their faces. Not only did you surprise yourself but you just so happened to manage a favorable impression on unknowing employees that now are giving serious thought to becoming closer friends.

Surprise, surprise, surprise…you conquered your comfort zone and managed to make some new friends on account of it!