It is remarkable to what lengths people will go to avoid thought
–Thomas Edison
Christine O’Kelly @ Self Made Chick wrote a wonderful essay: How I’m Holding Myself Back And How To Avoid Stagnation In Your Business.
It’s an inspiring read and I recommend checking it out.
One of the more salient points for me dealt with pushing past our comfort levels. It’s true that I often look up and find myself in a rut. I don’t want to think new thoughts. I don’t want to stretch my brain. I don’t want to try anything new.
I’d just rather crawl into bed, pop on the Biography Channel and take a nap. Ahhhh, now that’s comfort.
But really, it’s escapism. It’s hiding from our life. It’s avoiding the hard thinking we need to do to better ourselves and our situation.
‘Holding Myself Back recommends purging the limiting relationships, beliefs, and “stuff” holding us back and I couldn’t agree more. That said, I find actively seeking out new ideas and new relationships is another great way to change your perspective on life.
It doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable, unfun process.
Many times all it takes is attending a lecture, downloading a podcast or picking up the right book — and suddenly you’ll feel those creative juices flowing again.
Ahh - a warm blanket and the Biography Channel… that does sound tempting! One of the things I did when I was really trying with full force to push past my comfort zone was get rid of TV. I would NEVER have been able to trust myself if I had just decided to stop watching it… so we cut off all cable and had zero channels. Ouch.
When things got rough before, I would just watch some TV to escape. But with no outlet… I was forced to push through a lot of things. I know that’s pretty extreme - but it helped me to push beyond my comfort zone during an extreme time.
That lasted for 2 years… a few months ago, I got a huge TV and the biggest cable package possible. Now I only use it as a crutch sometimes rather than all the time