Hey you guys, welcome back to the Abundant Heart podcast. Excited to be with you. We're talking about expanding your comfort zone today. And the reason this is on my mind is actually at an indoor playground with my daughters a few weeks ago and they have this climbing tree. And this climbing tree, like the kids love it. You hook into a harness and there's like different things you can climb on, right? There's like ladders or the rock climbing part or, you know, just wooden circles that you can climb up.
It's really cool. And I was talking to my oldest daughter about her fear of heights because like the first time that she tried to climb it, she was really nervous. And so she would climb up a little bit and jump down, right? And the harness kind of slowly glides you to the ground. And then the next time she like climbed a little bit higher and then jumped off and did it again, right? And she did this over and over again. And I was watching her thinking because, you know, this is what content creators do. We're always on the lookout for a lesson or a principle.
And I was like, this is interesting to watch because she's not going out of her comfort zone to create something new. She is just expanding what she feels comfortable with. And as soon as I had that thought, I was like, ding! Like lightning bolt clarity. There's something here. Then I was thinking about my business and my writing and putting myself in situations that were, quote, out of my comfort zone. And I had this realization that I've simply, not simply, but more correctly than saying getting out of my comfort zone, I have expanded my comfort zone.
And I will often tell my clients like to go to the edge of their comfort zone because I don't believe you have to be like super triggered or activated to create something you've never created before. But if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got. Right. And so to create something you've never created before, you have to think things you've never thought before, believe things you've never believed before and do things you've never done before. But the thing is, is like you don't have to do it in a way that feels unsafe to your nervous system.
And so I've taught that in different ways. But the wording of expand your comfort zone really landed for me. And so I've been thinking about that a lot. I also started to observe, you know, my favorite creators and coaches and thought leaders. And I noticed the same thing, right? Like they don't necessarily leave their comfort zone. They're constantly expanding their comfort zone. They're constantly expanding their tolerance for the unknown. I think they live right on the edge of their comfort zone. They're not so far in the known that they get lost or paralyzed. Right.
They're not taking so much new action that their body shuts down or they're super stressed. Right. They and I, I would say, I started to see this pattern in my own life. Right. We go to the edge of the comfort zone and we expand it. And so I was thinking about the word expansion and how I really love that word because it's not about fixing. It's not about solving in the sense that like you're broken and you have to overcome your obstacles and limitations. And, you know, I don't believe in that kind of stuff, but I do believe in expansion, growing my capacity, growing my beliefs, growing my abilities and skills and influence and my perception and perspective.
And so this really landed for me, this idea of expanding my comfort zone. And so I kind of had been thinking about five steps. And the first one came because I was actually coaching a client about a GPS. Right. And a GPS only works if you have two points. So it can triangulate. You have to know where you are and you have to know where you're going. And I think our comfort zone is like that. Right. We're not expanding our comfort zone for the sake of expanding our comfort zone. We're expanding our comfort zone in order to create what we want. And so we have to know what we want, but we also have to know where we are. That way we can use like a GPS right to know where to go out of your comfort zone and where not to.
What even is relevant to getting out of your comfort zone? As an example, if I want to be an author, it wouldn't necessarily make sense for me to take swimming lessons. Right. Like, yes, that's out of my comfort zone, but it doesn't really contribute to what I'm trying to create. So getting specific clarity about what you want, which is a theme that comes up a lot in this podcast. Right. Taking the time to nurture your beliefs about what you want and getting clarity, whether that's through images, through exposure, through content, through travel, through attending conferences or getting exposed to ideas of possibilities that you can choose to want is important. That is the soul journey.
Our soul's journey is about expansion into new possibilities, new experiences, new situations that we create for ourselves. But you have to know where you're going. And this is what's crazy is like you don't even have to know exactly what you want forever. This isn't about a one time decision. This is a constant experience where we're refining our vision and creating it. And then once you get there, that you pick a new vision, right? Like that's the game of expansion. But in order to even know how to expand your comfort zone, you have to have a vision on the horizon.
So getting clear about what you want for your body, your relationships, your business, your finances, your lifestyle, then you can make those empowered decisions. Right. Instead of swim lessons, you might publish a blog if you wanted to be an author. If you want clients, you know, your comfort zone might be DMing people on social media. Expanding your comfort zone is not random. It's intentional and by design. Step two is to identify what you've already tried in order to create your vision. So I think it's healthy to kind of take note of what you've already experimented with. What is in your comfort zone and does it work or is it not working?
One of the things that I think is so important is telling ourselves the truth, right? If you have a goal of, let's say, launching something, let's say a group program. I've helped my clients launch group programs. That's top of mind. Let's say you have a goal of launching a group program and you've always tried posting on Facebook and writing emails. And you look over the last seven launches and you're like, oh, Facebook posts and email is comfortable to me. I've done it over and over again, but it hasn't created what I want. Like, interesting. I'm going to make note of that. I've tried these things and it didn't quite create what I want.
The reason that I like to do this with a spirit of abundance, this isn't a place of judgment. It's like high level, honest observations that you can make the different choices. And what the point of today is, is like expand into more unknown and try new things to get what you want, because that leads us to step three, identify what you wanted to try, but didn't because of fear, procrastination or distraction. And I would even also add things that you didn't know were a possibility. So in the last cohort of the Art of Impossible, I had a client who didn't realize like she could just DM people, right? And not in a cold pitch scenario, but like just to spark conversation.
Like it never really crossed her mind that she could just have conversations, right? Like with people on the Internet. And she's like, I knew it was a possibility. She's like, I always just was waiting for them to respond. And I think there's a lot of power that comes when we reflect on what didn't work and then getting curious about what would push me to the edge of my comfort zone. For her, it was initiating conversations, which I think is a super underrated way of growing a word of mouth business. But the principle is there anyway.
There's things that you've done for a long time that's comfortable, that's like your bread and butter. But if you don't like what those things are producing, it's time to explore new channels, new ideas, new possibilities, new ways of doing things, new ways of being to create what you want. And so one of the things that I like to do is like I kind of write down all the ideas of what could help me create what I want, even ones that are like insane. I still write them down because it keeps me creative. It keeps me open to possibilities. So I'll give you an example from my own life these last two years.
So about two years ago, maybe even three years ago, I wrote down that I wanted to write a book. And it was just kind of like I threw it out there. Like, yeah, one day. And I noticed that it showed up on my list for like a New Year's resolution, like two years in a row. And I had made zero progress. And I was like, interesting. I keep writing it down and I've made zero percent progress on writing a book. Obviously, what I'm doing is not working. And then I found myself at a Rich Lifford intensive in Santa Fe, and he talked about this idea called a tiny book. And I was like, that's it. Like, what I haven't tried is putting myself in a group program that will help me write this book. I joined the group program and I wrote Quiet Wealth.
That was the fruit of that decision. And so sometimes it's like thinking outside the box, right? I had never thought about joining a group to write a book, but it totally worked for me. It also helped me because he had an incentive, right? If you finish the book and you got chosen, he would share it to his email list, which he did. Like, I think that was a really cool opportunity. But that was me on the edge of my comfort zone, right? It was uncomfortable doing the group. It was uncomfortable to like promote myself and even still putting myself out there that like, I have a book, you know, it feels uncomfortable.
But if you want to be a published, paid author, that's part of the gig. And so expanding the comfort zone that way helped me create what I had never created before. And so make a list of things that you've wanted to try or things that like just anything that could get you closer, even if they don't make total sense. It could be if you wanted to make 10K this month, it's like knock on my neighbor's doors and sell them coaching or knock on my neighbor's doors and sell them my book, right? Would I do that? No, but like it helps me think creatively. The next thing that I think is important to do is to actually make a list of things you can experiment with in the next 30 days. And I separated this out with beliefs and actions.
So as an example, let's say you want to create 10K monthly recurring revenue. You might write down what I'm believing is that money is coming to me. People want to pay me. My clients are already in my orbit. People enjoy watching me sell. It's good for the world when I get what I want. You might be doing posting on social media every day, sharing links to buy from me every single day, writing a weekly newsletter, initiating five conversations online a day, inviting people who ask me questions to a chat, including links to book a consult call, et cetera, et cetera. And I like 30 days because it kind of feels like a sprint, right?
Like something that you're focused on for the next month. This is where we expand, right? This is where the 12-month game plan comes into play. After the 30 days, so you know what you want, you know what you've tried, and you've made a list of things you haven't tried yet. Then you have a 30-day plan, a belief plan, and an action plan. Then we move into phase five, which is execute, evaluate, and expand. And this goes beyond the 30 days, right? This is something that I feel like I do all the time. You look at the list that you wrote down in number four, so like the game plan you had for 30 days, and you do it.
You try things, you believe things you'd never believed before, you suspend disbelief, and then you evaluate after those 30 days. What worked? What didn't? What did you enjoy? What didn't you enjoy? And then we work in the game of expansion. What have you gotten comfortable with? What is on the edge of your comfort zone now? As you do new things, eventually those become comfortable, and we have to push into a new edge your comfort zone. Another question that I like to ask myself is like, what's just the next step?
So like when I started writing the book, the next step was literally just like typing words, and then it was editing, and then it was getting my cover, and then it was formatting it for Amazon, and then it was publishing it on Amazon, then it was telling people it was on Amazon. Just the next best step. Another question that I like to consider in this phase is, what are the skills that I need to develop? Sometimes there's things that you cannot do because you are not skilled enough, but you can learn it, and so that gets added to your plan, and you repeat these steps as often as necessary.
And so I include some questions, and these questions are actually in my lightning alignment journal, because I ask these questions of myself every single day, and I also include monthly questions, because I think it's good to reflect pretty much every 30 days, right? Reflecting on what worked and what didn't. And so over the next 12 months, every day, you might ask yourself, what would love do through me today? What do I feel inspired to do today? Who do I feel inspired to reach out to, if anyone? What is one thing my future self has already created that I can tune into gratitude for now? I love that question.
Who will I send blessings and good energy to today? I read a book called The Gentle Art of Blessing by Pierre Pradervand. Such a good book. Highly recommend it. But one of the things that I choose to believe is that people can feel my thoughts about them. And I try to send great thoughts, great vibrations out to people. Like, I bless them in my mind. Like, I hope you have a great day. Like, when I see a random stranger, like, I'm like, oh, I hope they're more prosperous and peaceful today. Like, I just send them good thoughts. I do this to my audience. I do this to my clients. It just helps me feel amazing. And I've seen synchronicities come from it, where people, like, respond, even though they didn't know that I was thinking about them.
Like, I get a message from them, or they join my program. Like, it's wild how it works. Number five, what are three great things that have happened recently, getting into the spirit of abundance and the feeling of gratitude? And then what are three incredible things about to happen, so you can consciously create and consciously speak it into existence? So those are questions that I ask myself every single day. The next thing that I recommend is a monthly review. And like I said, these questions are also in my lightning alignment journal. But every month, I kind of go through, like, what worked this month, what didn't work this month, what feels heavy that I need to let go of.
Sometimes the edge of our comfort zone is actually ending something, right? Stop doing. So one of the things in my own business where this happened is, like, The Matrix, which has been a program that I've ran for years, started to feel heavy, and I knew it needed to change. And that was very much at the edge of my comfort zone, because The Matrix had gotten very comfortable for me, very run-of-the-mill, very easy for me to deliver. It felt predictable. But I knew to grow, I had to let it go, so that Lighthouse Mentorship could take its place. And so sometimes what feels heavy actually pushes you to the edge of your comfort zone.
And you let go of it, and now you've expanded your comfort zone. Another brutally honest question to ask yourself, what have I been procrastinating that I can prioritize this month? Another question, what is one project I can commit to that would move the needle on my biggest goals? What is the smallest action I can take to get started? And so I'm always looking for needle-moving activities. I think it soothes the soul to be productive on things that matter to you. I think the more you procrastinate, the more you push off, the more you hide from your goals, the less in alignment you feel, because progress feels good.
Even if it's tiny progress, even if it's small actions. Writing one sentence when I was writing my book felt better than not writing. Right, overthinking is what felt bad. And so don't discount the small action. Like it really can help, one, soothe your soul, put you into alignment, but also helps you move into new possibilities. What felt really good to my mind and soul this month? I'm always looking for alignment. What am I committed to this upcoming month? And I really like thinking about commitments because it changes everything when you're committed to something. And I think as an aside, you could commit to living on the edge of your comfort zone and create miracles.
I think it's so easy to kind of slip into what's normal, our patterns, our predictability, but then we get frustrated that we keep recreating the same year or the same results over and over and over again. So we have to be creative and creativity is at the edge of our comfort zone. It's not so far out into the unknown that it's scary or that we get paralyzed or that we can't think straight. It's right on the edge. And as we continue to push into the edge of our comfort zone, new possibilities pop up. You start to see things differently. You ask yourself better and different questions. You experiment. I think experimentation is a huge aspect of the edge of your comfort zone that we do not do enough because our brains are wired for predictability, right?
We want to keep ourselves safe. Back in the day, right, if I experimented as a human being with eating berries, I could die. Like I might eat the wrong berry. And so it makes sense that our brains are like, hey, be very careful of the unknown. And so we have to retrain our mind to see the unknown as a big experiment that we design for ourselves where we can choose experiments that are totally safe. Messaging five people a day on Instagram is not going to kill you. Going live is not going to kill you. Launching a program you've never launched before is not going to kill you.
Publishing a creative work that you've never published before is not going to kill you. Raising your prices is not going to kill you. Not literally. Now, your brain might make you feel like it is, and that's the inner work. Experimenting and then regulating, experimenting and then regulating. So what I like to do is I might take some bold action in my business and then I go for a walk or I write in my journal or I get coaching or I talk to my husband or I take a nap. Like I come back into a very safe environment and remind my brain I'm not dying.
That's how you expand your comfort zone. You do something you've never done before. You believe something you've never believed before and you normalize it. You make it part of your norm and then you repeat it. And like I said in the five questions that helps you expand your comfort zone, phase five is something that I think we never really stop doing. We execute on the plan. So we believe things we never believed before and we do things we've never done before. We evaluate if it worked or if it didn't and then we expand. We do new things.
We expand the edge of our comfort zone into unknown possibilities and this is how people create things they've never created before in ways that like are very inspiring to watch. And it's like what we love to see is people growing. Growth means you're moving into an unknown space. And so get comfortable with the unknown. Make part of the unknown part of your comfort zone. That you experiment, that you dabble, that you try things, that you get reps in, that you have no judgment for yourself, right? One of the hugest aspects of growth for me has been non-judgment of myself.
So that when I quote fail or when something doesn't go according to plan, I'm okay. Which means I'm very tolerant of experimentation of failure and unknown. Therefore, I create things I've never created before. I push into new territory of success, new levels of creativity, new levels of productivity, new levels of influence. This has been a huge aspect of my success. So I hope it is useful for you. I hope you expand your comfort zone so you create what you've never been created before. We start the Art of Impossible February 6th.
So if you're listening to this and you want my help creating what you've never created before, consider joining the Art of Impossible. You can find the link in the show notes of this episode. If you're listening to this after we've already started, hopefully I run another cohort. I'd love to have you inside. And yeah, let's create what you've never created before. I'll talk to you soon. Bye.
