The Navigator

First published by Essential Wellness in 2005

Have you ever wished you had more confidence in any area of your life?  Your job? Relationships?  Intuitive living?  I know I’ve been saying for years that I wish I had more confidence in all of those areas and more.  I’ve wondered why I didn’t have more and I’ve wondered what my life would look like if I did have it.  I’ve played the “if onlys” over and over in my mind.

Finally, after tiring of seeing little change, I decided it was time to get out there and start doing things.  I realized that things weren’t going to change on their own.  One of the areas I looked at was my job.  Although there were many things I enjoyed about my job, I didn’t really feel passionate about it any more and felt like there was another direction I’d like to go.  One day I just took the afternoon off and went out looking for office space in the community.  As luck would have it, I found a perfect space that I could afford.  Then I joined the Chamber and before I opened my doors, I had my first official client call to schedule an appointment.  Things just grew from there. 

I realized that every time I took a risk, I gained confidence!  And not just in the area I took the risk (for example, my job) but in every area of my life.  Even though I’ve heard for most of my life that practice will do that for you, this was different for me.  It wasn’t really practicing as much as just going outside of my comfort zone to achieve the things I want. 

Rhonda Britten, author, calls this stretch, risk or die.  Imagine a bullseye and the middle of it is your comfort zone.  The next ring out is the stretch zone, the next one is the risk zone, and the furthest one out is the die zone.  Stretching is something you’ve been avoiding but isn’t really that hard to do.  The risk zone is when you doing something that is scary for you and if you do it; it will probably change your life.  The die zone is where you do something that is so scary, you feel like a part of you is going to die.   As you visit the outer edges of your bullseye, you will be able watch your life change before your very eyes.   

I invite you to take a look at an area of your life you’d really like to change.  Come up with two stretches, two risks, and a die.  Start with the stretches and go through each item on your list.  As you do, acknowledge each one proudly, no matter how small it may seem.  Each time it will get easier and easier and you will feel your confidence begin to grow. 

To have the life you desire you must move out of your comfort zone and into the stretch, risk, AND die zones.  Know that you are worth it!  Today’s your day!  Make it count!