Tag: #comfortzone

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?