May 2025 has been a very different month for me.
In February, I received an email about an in-person EFT course on May 2-4 that sounded really interesting and I decided I was going to go. Then I saw that it was in Gold Coast, Australia. “Well,” I thought, “I guess I’m not going.”
But then I thought, “Why not? What are my reasons?”
Honestly, I didn’t really have very good reasons. They were: “it’s outside my comfort zone” and “it’s just not what I do”. Staying in my comfort zone and doing what I always do is safe.
There is nothing inherently “wrong” with staying in your comfort zone and doing what you always do. Actually, it is important to feel safe. When we feel safe, our nervous system calms down and balances and our stress decreases. When we go outside the comfort zone - by trying something we haven’t done before or haven’t mastered - it feels unsafe. Without effective stress management skills, our stress level can become unmanageable and our only way to deal with stress is to retreat back into our comfort zone.
When you have the tools to effectively manage stress, you can stay outside your comfort zone while regulating your nervous system so you feel safe and your zone of comfort expands.
A while back, I heard someone say, “You can’t be too careful.” I disagree. You definitely can be too careful. So careful, in fact, that you don’t try, you don’t grow, you don’t live. Then, what’s the point of even being on this earth?
Also, when we stop approaching the edges or boundaries of our comfort zone, the zone will start getting smaller.
For example, if you find it stressful to drive in a large city - that would be outside your comfort zone - you may stop driving in cities to keep your stress low - to stay inside your comfort zone and stress levels low.
However, what happens is that your comfort zone gets even smaller. Because you don’t practice driving in large cities, you may start to get stressed driving in small cities or even towns. Eventually, in order to feel safe and less stressed, you may choose to not drive at all. But, really, this leads to more stress because now you are stuck at home and need to organize other transportation when your have to go somewhere.
And your zone of comfort gets smaller and smaller.
While staying within your comfort zone keeps you safe and less stressed (in the short term), it also keeps you small and stuck.
And I have had my fair share of feeling stuck. It was time to stretch my comfort zone and up-level my stress management skills! (Yes, even though I teach the skills, I still have to hone them myself to continue to grow!)
So, I booked tickets to the course and I booked my flights.
If I was going half way around the world, I was going to spend significant time there - I planned 26 days.
Before I left, I explored what was in that area to see and do - sightseeing, guided tours, rainforests, horseback riding, snorkelling, ebike rentals, scuba diving, sand tobogganing, ATV tours, whale watching, surfing…a lot.
Then I saw it. Skydiving.
“Yikes! I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
On May 6, using my stress management tools, I jumped (actually, I was pushed) out of a fully functional airplane from 11 000 feet above the coastal water. It was terrifying at first. Then incredibly awesome! 6 minutes later, Phil, my skydiving partner, skillfully landed us on the Coolangatta Beach.
Safe.
And my comfort zone expanded.
And it got further expanded throughout many other aspects of the trip, including driving on the other side of the car, on the opposite side of the road! (Did you know that the blinkers and the wipers are flipped, too?! My wipers were going at almost every turn I made. LOL. Thankfully the pedals are the same as here in Canada.)
Is it time to expand your comfort zone and live more?
Do you have the tools to effectively manage the stress as you expand? Get them, starting with a free 30-minute discovery call with me. Book it now, here.
Here’s to conquering stress,
With heart,
Louise
The Stress Experts
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You are so brave!
Way to go Louise!👏👏👏