Play a Bigger Game

Chapter 7 Stretch the boundaries

Now it's time to really step up to the plate, take some action and get outside your comfort zone. Our comfort zone is the zone where nothing happens. It's the place where we grow fat and old, the place where goals, dreams, ideas and ambitions fade into oblivion.

Top achievers have an ever-expanding comfort zone. They develop and grow, learn new things, have new experiences open broader horizons. Expanding your comfort zone develops confidence and allows you to make the impossible possible.

Let's examine the zones individually from the model in figure 7.1.

Figure 7.1: the zones of experience

Comfort zone

That's the little warm and fuzzy place we stay, where it's nice and safe and we don't get hurt. We're wrapped in cotton wool and it really doesn't matter what we do because nothing can possibly harm us. We always feel safe in our comfort zone, but unfortunately we can't possibly grow from there.

Learning/ability zone

The next zone outside our comfort zone is called our learning zone. How do you get out of your comfort zone and into your learning zone? It's easy — just start taking little steps, little nudges, little pushes. Start trying things you have never done before. Challenge yourself a little bit. Think of the things you do now that are easy and step them up a level. The way to get out of our comfort zone is to push gradually against ...