Stepping out of your comfort zone? It’s like skiing down the mountain!
I was away skiing last week. It is an activity I enjoy but only do once each year. As you can imagine, I always feel a little nervous getting onto the slopes wondering if my legs would know what to do!
It started as quite a challenge. I was tentative. I was frightened of falling over. When skiing, (like many other things) the worst thing you can do is tense up because the more you are tense, the more likely you are to fall over.
And I thought how this is a metaphor for life and taking a step out of your comfort zone.
You may want to do it, you may know it could be uncomfortable and therefore the tension increases as you are unsure of yourself or what may happen.
To ski well the process in counter-intuitive
- You must lean down the slope to control your turns and speed. This is the last thing you want to do because it feels safer leaning where there is less distance to fall!
- The snow is not always smooth and consistent, and you may hit a mogul, (a lump of snow) that can catch your ski. At this time you must trust your balance and that your legs will absorb the bumps and cope with it.
- Or you may hit an icy patch where your skis can’t grip in the same way you are expecting. At this point slowing down becomes more difficult. If you turn too quickly the skis will go from under you and so you must let yourself go with the slide.
The more that you resist these steps the more likely you will tumble.
The more you trust yourself and go with it, the easier the skiing becomes, the more enjoyable it is and there is less strain on the body too!
What about you?
Think now about a step you are taking or want to take out of your comfort zone and ask yourself:
• How resistant are you?
• Is their tension or are you ready to absorb any bumps along the way?
• Are you leaning up the slope away from it or are you trusting yourself to go with it?
I wonder what could happen if you leaned into the slope and trusted yourself that you can cope with whatever happens on the way.
And remember it doesn’t matter how quickly or slowly you get down the mountain. It does not have to be a race and the scenery can be fantastic along the route.
So, take your time, enjoy the journey and afterwards reflect on what you have achieved!
