Tag: #comfortzone

Beyond Comfort: Trusting God’s Greater Plan

Most people think they are in pursuit of happiness, but in reality, they are actually in pursuit of comfort. However, if we look at Scripture, we will see that God rarely called people to stay comfortable. Instead, He calls them into the unknown – into spaces that stretched their faith, tested their trust and revealed His glory. Think of how God called Abraham to leave his homeland, or Moses standing before Pharaoh, with nothing but God’s word and His promises.

God’s Plan isn’t always comfortable – but it’s always Good

We often confuse comfort with peace. Comfort is about ease, but peace is about God’s presence. Jesus promised that we would face trials, yet He also promised His peace in the midst of our trials. When we cling to comfort, we risk missing out on the deeper work God has planned for us.

📖 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33, NIV)

Growth happens in the Stretch

Like muscles that only grow when stretched, our faith deepened when we step into the unknown and unfamiliar. Peter had to get out of the boat before he could walk on water towards Jesus. If we never leave our comfort zone, we will never experience the miracle of God meeting us in the impossible.

📖 “‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” (Matthew 14:29, NIV)

God’s Glory is Revealed in our Surrender

The greatest testimonies often come from people who dared to leave behind safety. Joseph endured slavery, slander and imprisonment before stepping into his destiny. When we surrender our comfort and control, we make space for God to display His amazing power in ways we could never imagine ourselves.

📖 “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20, NIV)

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: leave your comfort zone to step into God’s amazing plan for you, so that He can lead you to greater faith, deeper trust and lasting impact.

The Shift from Let Them to Let Me Be Empowered

Last week, I talked about Mel Robbin’s book, The Let Them Theory. This week, I want to continue on the shift to Let Me – to empower me to grow, to shine and to walk boldly in my divine dream. I know it can be challenging, as I sometimes struggle to get out of my comfort zone.

Let Me Show Up Imperfect but Willing

Most of the time, I would prefer to plan properly and get things ready before starting anything. Or maybe it is my excuse for procrastination. God is seeking our obedience, not our effort and skills. In fact, He wants us to obey Him and rely on Him to do His will. I read this quote: God does not call the equipped, He equips those He calls. Therefore, trust God to equip you – just show up and do whatever He asks you to do. He is a God of “Mission Impossible” – so be willing to do the impossible and give Him all the glory for HIS great works (yes, not my works).

Let Me trust and obey God.

Let Me show up and be empowered.

Let Me learn and grow.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9

Let Me Shine Unapologetically

Sometimes, it seems safer in the shadow, than to be in the spotlight. We become comfortable in the shadow, as it can be quite uncomfortable to be in the spotlight. Not only that, the shadow also keeps people around us comfortable.

Yet God has called us to shine – to reflect God’s glory in our lives. We are God’s masterpiece. We are called to live big, audacious and bold lives. He gives us divine dreams to pursue boldly, even outrageously. Yet, too often, we shrink to fit into our limited beliefs and the expectations of people around us. How are we giving glory to God when we continue to stay in the shadows?

Let Me Shine.

Let Me Be Unapologetic.

Let Me Level Up.

“For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…” — Ephesians 2:10

My Invitation

This is my invitation to you today: trust and obey God wholeheartedly – to pursue your boldest and wildest dreams, so that you can shine unapologetically and give glory to Him.

The Hazard of our Lizard Brain

Have you ever had a great idea, only to talk yourself out of it?
Have you ever wanted to start something new, only to abandon it?
Have you dreamt of going to new places, only to chuck it one side?

I attended the Mindworks Program by Frances Penafort today, and she talked about our brain. There are three parts to our brain: lizard brain, limbic brain and pre-frontal cortex. The lizard brain is the primitive brain that used to protect us from predators, but in the modern world, it is more to keep us in our safe and comfort zone. Therefore, when we have any new ideas that kicks us out of our comfort zone, then the lizard brain will quickly put in motion all the danger signs and warnings to keep us back in our comfort zone. Hence, it will cast doubts and cause anxiety, it will analyse and overthink the matter. Eventually, we talk ourselves out of it with excuses and return us to so-called reality. In other words – stop dreaming!

So we need to be aware of the hazards of our lizard brain. It has the important role of keeping us safe. However, implementing new ideas will definitely require us to get out of our comfort zone and do new things, meet new people and have new experiences. Most of the time, our default mode is to stay the same, comfortable and don’t rock the boat. However, for us to improve and grow, we need to get out of our comfort zone to explore new ideas, maybe fail a few times, learn from our mistakes, improve and level up. It requires a lot of hard work and going through frustration, sweat and tears. Hence, it is important to know the reason why we want to set new goals or achieve new dreams. It is the “WHY” that pushes us through the hardships and sufferings as we endure towards our goals and dreams.

This is my invitation to you today: be aware of the lizard brain, but don’t let it stop you from achieving your dreams and goals. As we approach a New Year of 2025, dare to pursue your boldest dream!

Magic Happens Outside of your Comfort Zone

Continuing with last week’s post on Roxie Nafousi’s book, Manifest, her third step is Align Your Behaviour – to show the universe what you believe you deserve. And that means taking proactive actions to align with your most authentic self.

Every single time you step outside of your comfort zone, you attract abundance to you. This is because magic happens outside of your comfort zone – Roxie Nafousi.

We have a tendency to stay stuck in our comfort zone, as we fear failure when we step out of our comfort zone. It takes courage to venture into the unknown and explore new adventures. I believe we learn more from our failures than our successes. Each failure is a lesson learnt. We grow through our failures. Our society frown upon failures, encouraging us seek safety and comfort instead. However, it is only in our leap of faith into the vast landscape of opportunities do we feel truly alive and excited in doing what we have dreamt of. The magic is in living our dreams!

One of the ways of aligning your behaviour is creating daily healthy habits. John Maxwell believed that: you will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of success is found in your daily routine.

Some suggested routines are:

  • Morning Routine to start the day – meditation, exercise, affirmation, visualisation, journaling, planning for the day
  • Evening Routine to end the day – review of the day, planning the next day, gratitude journaling, spending time with spouse and/or children
  • Daily Routine – drink water, eat nutritious (non-processed) food, sleep early, have movement/steps, pause and close eyes, take a few deep breaths, pray, read, do something different every day (e.g. change your route to/from work).

I believe in magic, or miracles, in our lives. When we open our eyes to seek the magic and wonders in our lives, we will recognise them. Magic happens when we dare to pursue big bold dreams.

Question: What is the Magic you are seeking in your life?

Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

You think that most people want to be happy, right? I suspect the truth is closer to the fact that most people want to be comfortable. Then naturally, they would be comfortably happy!

But to grow, we need to get out of our comfort zone, and do the uncomfortable things that challenges us. For example, I was uncomfortable taking photos of myself and posting them on social media. As a photographer, I felt more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it. It took me awhile to be comfortable in taking selfies on my iPhone. I found out that using DSLR camera to shoot is quite different from using the iPhone camera to shoot selfies. It’s quite a different skill set! Now, I am quite comfortable and confident taking selfies, as long as there is good lighting!

My next challenge is taking videos, which I am still very uncomfortable. I am even finding ways to post videos on social media without showing my face..! Haha!

Nevertheless, I really want to overcome it and do this uncomfortable thing. I have a new project which requires my social media presence more “vividly” (showing my face lah). I have been hiding comfortably behind written words in this personal blog of mine. It is time for me to move to the next level. It is time for my exponential growth – my 10X growth – for 2024.

What is the uncomfortable thing you know you should do to accelerate your personal growth this year?