Plus 11 Ways To Never Be Phased By Challenging Situations
Life begins when you step outside of your comfort zone. Growth, opportunity, success, and achievements are all attained by pushing your boundaries. In order to become the best version of yourself, you need to step outside of your comfort zone and facilitate the opportunity for growth. When you choose to consciously challenge yourself and strive for greatness, you will naturally begin to develop the necessary skills and traits that the universe intended you to align with to become the best version of yourself. Which allows you to reveal the characteristics within yourself that you may not have known were hidden this entire time.
If you want to be comfortable and un-phased by any situation, it's all about your mindset and focus towards controlling what you can control. You can only control your thoughts, words, actions, and emotions. Everything else is out of your control... However, this should give you the confidence that when you get into challenging times, you know what to focus on in order to make the best of that situation. A circumstance becomes uncomfortable, when you are outside of your daily typical routine and boundaries that you feel strong and in control of. When you are forced to use skills or traits that are not your strong suit or forte, it can be intimidating that you will fail, be incompetent, or make a fool of yourself. This is natural and typical for most individuals, because most people want to seem like they always have the answer or can understand what someone is talking about. As well, people don't like to fail or make mistakes in front of others, so if these opportunities present themselves, many will shy away from the challenge.
Learning how to enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone is a skill, and one that takes years of practice and patience. Until you can let go of your ego, this will be a daunting task. You must be willing to do things poorly until you can master them. You must be willing to try new things in order to see if you really like them. You must be willing to have transparency and vulnerability around others, to detach from perfectionism and the idea that you only have certain strong suits that you need to stick to. You must be ambitious to strive for growth, or else dreams just become wishes that you'll keep hoping will come true. Consistent action and conscious focus create success and results. The thoughts lead to the actions you take. But, if you never put actions into place, those thoughts just remain dreams. You are the creator, you have the power to manifest anything you desire, but that takes an alignment of positive thoughts, words, actions, habits and a routine that over time conspire the dreams you always wanted to experience.
Imagine you are limited to an environment that never lets you leave your house. You would have very skewed ideas of what the outside would is all about. Depending on the knowledge and wisdom you have access to, you can only ever imagine everything outside those walls by that specific information. Maybe it's outdated? Maybe it's biased? Maybe it's just theoretical or fiction. Until you step outside and experience life for yourself, you could never truly know what aligns with reality. Now potentially it's very comfortable inside your home, and you have all the necessities to survive, but your highest potential can only come from stepping outside and experience everything life has to offer in order to thrive.
Think of animals that were raised in captivity or a zoo. They can never be released back into the wild because they won't know how to hunt, survive, or have the skills to be a part of the pack or herd. They never stepped out of their comfort zone because they most likely couldn't. No matter if it's a shark or a lion, each animal needs to be pushed into uncomfortable situations in order to grow and develop themselves into what nature intended them to be. Potentially a predator or a beast. However, if they are never given the opportunity to develop their instinctual skills from the proper experiences, then they will become prey.
Your environment completely dictates your potential for growth. If you grow up in a harsh environment, you will naturally become more aware, tough, resilient, stronger, and protective. If you grow up in an environment where everything is given to you, and everything is easy, naturally you will become soft, potentially unaware, unconscious, ungrateful, and lacking instinct. You do need certain necessities based on the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Depending on what level you are challenged with, it will change what skills and attributes you will be forced to develop in order to survive and thrive.
If you look into the world, most mentally tough individuals have had to endure some type of hardship, suffering, trauma, pain, or tedious long road. This gave them the opportunity to decide between two choices. Let this challenge defeat me and give up, or keep moving forward and make the best of what I can. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger... It's all perspective... If someone wants to succeed as bad as they want to breath, they will become successful, no matter what they have to endure. Check out some of the amazing feats humans have done. From scaling mountains and climbing Mt. Everest, swimming across the English Channel, or Rocking climbing Yosemite with no rope! All of these people definitely trained and chose to tackle these immense feats, but they had to endure VERY uncomfortable situations, that even training can only give you a taste of. Until you actually go after it, then you will be tested if all your training prepared you for those gruelling efforts. In all these examples they were in VERY uncomfortable situations, and just kept focused on what they could control, and the steps or strokes they were taking right in front of them. No matter how long the journey may have been or will be, if you stay focused on one step at a time, and just keep adapting and growing to move forward, eventually you will reach your destination.
Plus, the experience, knowledge, wisdom and growth that comes from stepping outside of the comfort zone is exponential based on your will power to expand you boundaries. Some people thrive in chaos, potentially martial artists, Formulas 1 drivers, or elite rock climbers. They've all developed the skills to maintain a positive and focused psyche, while remaining cool, calm, and collected with their thoughts, words, and actions. This allows them to perform at an elite level consistently and achieve feats that most would say are impossible or insane. They understand the risks that they're taking, but take their time to train and practice rigorously to ensure they stay as safe as possible for what they're doing. Because remember, if you panic, you will get yourself hurt or potentially dead, just depends on how risky you'd like to be. However, your limits are all up to your own beliefs. Definitely, don't expect to just scale a mountain without a rope or swim across the ocean if you haven't even bouldered a few feet off the ground or swam laps at your local pool. Just know you have to slowly expand your boundaries in order to remain safe yet growing to reach your highest potential.
Some of the best athletes take years of training just to even attempt the feats they desire to complete. Respect your limits and play within it. Take your time and see growth as an ongoing process that never ends on the journey of life.
Now getting away from intense and daring athletes, let's dive into the more everyday feats that you may encounter. Potentially, public speaking, taking a new lead role on a work project, receiving a promotion in your career, choosing a new career that aligns with your passion, taking a pay cut to pursue your passion, moving out of your parents house, going to university far away from friends and family, opening up about emotions and feelings, telling someone you don't know the answer, making mistakes or "failing" in front of others. All of these can be challenging and uncomfortable. But, only if you choose to focus on the negatives compared to the positives.
The positives of becoming more confident within yourself are: being happier with the reflection you see in the mirror, increasing your overall value, integrity and wealth, being joyful while living your passion, feeling stress free and at ease with everyday choices, letting go of fear and doubt. The positives completely out weigh the negatives; but, if you choose to focus on the "what ifs" and never challenge yourself to grow, you will always remain stuck in the life that you may be accidentally creating by reaction, instead of creating by responding...
Yes, you may have to feel as if you're going backwards or pausing on life in time of growth. But, if you want to heal, grow, and flow, you'll need to pull your bow backwards in order to accelerate it forward on target and near the bullseye. Sometimes you do need to restart and try again. However, it's not really restarting since you have so much more knowledge, wisdom and experience this time around to tackle challenges smarter and more efficiently. Failure is a part of the process, and it's the only way to truly learn and make adjustments for the better. But, stepping out of your comfort zone that you either created or allowed others to set, is the only way you will become the best version of yourself that deserves the life you're dreaming about.
11 Ways To Never Be Phased By Challenging Situations
1. Control what you can control
Maintain your focus on staying present and in control, this is crucial for safety and success. When leaping into new experiences or uncomfortable situations, the better you control your mind, the better the outcomes will be. When your thoughts are positive, one track oriented, and flowing at a calm vibration, you will make the most rational, logical, and intelligent decisions that you can possibly make in that current moment. Wouldn't that be the best option? Yes, so if the mind gets too sped up, stuck on the past, or not at ease, irrational thoughts will arise and lead to improper actions that may lead to negative or unfortunate events. If you want to create the best possible outcome, you need to remain as present as possible. This will allow you to respond correctly and make the right choices, instead of reacting without thought of the consequences. Good or bad, everything has a repercussion, one way is positive, the other is negative. If you want to consistently handle challenging situations intelligently, then focus on pausing, responding, and keeping your thoughts positive to increase the likelihood of a pleasant outcome. You can only control, your thoughts, words, and actions. But, it all stems from your thoughts. Remain in control of your thoughts, and the body will follow. Let go of this control, and feelings could mislead you in your decisions.
2. Focus on the positives
Your mind is easily persuaded, and depending on your thoughts, it will dictate the outcomes that manifest into your reality. Your perceptions of everything around you will completely alter the way you perceive them to be, even if that's not the current reality. If you look at something with a negative mindset, you will only see those features as that's your only focus. If you choose to see something with a positive mindset, you will naturally align more with the positive experiences. You can always control how you look at life, either optimistic or pessimistic. The glass is half full or half empty... Every situation can have pros and cons, but if you keep your attention on the pros, you will begin to put the words and actions into place that creates the reality you are wanting to attain. If your focus on the negatives, could you ever create a positive outcome? No... So, why do so many people put a lot of energy into the negative aspects of their day or situation. Life is meant to be challenging in order for you to grow. But, your mindset and focus will completely control the results. Focusing on the positives will allow you to maintain a positive psyche, a conscious well being, and logical responses to whatever you're dealing with. Life is full of risks, but if you choose to focus on the positives and what you can control, you will always be open to new experiences and limitless growth.
3. Letting go from the illusion of Fear...
Fear is an illusion, danger is REAL... However, the illusion that creates boundaries and resentment for expanding into new territories, will completely decide how far you will strive towards greatness. Fear is paralyzing and will make most people stuck in their own comfort zone. Or they will choose to keep running away, hence the term "fight or flight". If you are constantly living in fear, you will always be in a stressful state. This will cause illnesses, a lowered immune system, lack of sleep and rest, and a shortened life span. Those who can live peaceful, joyful, playful, and confident within themselves, will live their longest and best life possible. When learning how to manage ones natural instinctual fears compared to conditioned ones, you must dive deep into the root that created those fears in the first place. The only fears you are born with is: the fear of falling, and the fear of loud noises. These naturally are instilled within you to ensure safety and survival. Everything else is due to experiences or indoctrination by whomever was in your life during childhood and adolescence. Most people later in life realize the fears they had were nothing more than their imagination playing tricks on them. But, if you never take the chance to see if this is true, you will always be held in captivity from growth by your own mind. First off, you need to be conscious and present, if your mind is not aware and in the moment, you will not be in complete control, and you could lead yourself to being hurt by danger. All depends on what type of fear you are trying to conquer. Second you need to envision yourself already succeeding and defeating your fear, way before you ever attempt to overcome it. Mental imagery is a massive skill for success. Third you need to keep your mind positive and focused on what you can control, if you let your mind drift towards the negatives, those thoughts will lead to improper actions that can result in harmful or unpleasant experiences. The only thing you should fear, is fear itself. When something becomes fearful, learn to tackle it in small doses in order to break through the illusion that's holding you back from being your strongest and best self. To control what you can control, and to let go of what you can't control, will allow your mind to be as focused on the task as possible in order to achieve positive outcomes.
4. Stay calculated with your risk
Risk needs to be calculated and realistic, without being limiting or hindering of your overall potential. You do need to take risks in order to grow. But, taking too much risk can be very harmful, and taking no risk can be just as harmful. Just depends in how you look at it. If you are not prepared for the level of risk you are trying to take, there may be consequences for going past your limits that you're currently ready for. Never take any risks and you will get no where except an unfulfilled life. When choosing a career, picking a spouse, investing in the stock market. They all have risks, but some more than others. If you want to make slower marginal gains over 20 years, invest in a low risk portfolio. If you want to double your money in less than a year, invest into volatile fast moving stocks. The person who's willing to take more risk, also gives themselves the opportunity to reap greater rewards. As well, they take the risk of losing more money because of the danger associated with volatile investments. Just an example of tasking risks, and if properly calculated and concise, you can be rewarded immensely. This goes for anything that involves risk. If you want to stay safe, you will barely receive any reward for it. Many people take less risk, because it takes too much effort of attention to the little details to ensure the outcome is positive. If you knew you were going to succeed, would it still be risky? The potential to fail or lose is what makes something risky. But, if you have the right mindset you can know when are where to take more or less risk. Be wise about your decisions. Let your heart create the brightest vision, and your mind steer the vessel logically and intelligently.
5. Less is more...
If you can recall through times in your life, when you tried to do too much, it never worked out well on your behalf. Typically over thinking, over speaking, over acting, will lead to eventually having to slow down and reflect on what you've just done. Quality over quantity is a cliche you hear a lot, but it's true... If you try to be the hare,, you will end up losing to the tortoise in the long run anyways. So why not just work more effectively and efficiently by taking small steps always in the right direction. It's better to do less work that's really productive and helpful in achieving your goals, than a ton of work that you have to go back and correct or remove because it doesn't align you with your desired results. In fact it most likely moves you further away from them. If you think less you will feel more calm and collected, if you speak less you will hear and learn more, if you act less, you will feel more and move with better purpose. Doing less is always wiser and more valuable in terms of integrity. Those who think less, are able to respond correctly, those who speak less, hold more power with their words, those who act less, move with poise and grace. The art of doing less is a principle that will allow you to remain balanced and in control of your body, mind, and soul. Thinking quality over quantity will be a slower way of living, but a more effective, efficient, and joyful experience to the results you desire.
6. Slow and steady wins the race
Life is a marathon not a sprint. If you want anything fast, it will never last, and for anything to last it will never come fast. Understand the best things in life take time and patience. The beauty of the journey is the process. Life shouldn't even be considered a race, since it's never actually a race. Some people are racing towards wealth, success or happiness, but missing the experiences along the way that made them create and deserve the results. This process along the journey is what gives you the experiences you cherish and remember for eternity. Plus, if you want to share your wisdom or knowledge to others, you need to soak up as much as possible from the journey that you can. Most people can agree they'd like life to last as long as possible. Where as a race you want to get to the finish line as quick as possible. If you're living life to reach the end destination, you may not like the finish line. Life takes a toll on the body and by the end of it you will be physically old, worn down, and grey. You want to make life as long as possible, because this experience is so amazing and truly a gift from the universe. Why else are people focused on protecting themselves at all times, eating healthy, remaining active and strong. If people didn't want a long life, then they wouldn't care about any of these things, and honestly some don't. Which makes sense why some live longer than others. Your routine and habits will create your lifestyle, and based on that lifestyle it will completely dictate the quality of living you maintain.
7. Good vs. Bad pain or stress
Stress is a natural part of life, and without it the body can't grow. The deciding factor is if it's beneficial or harmful. Harmful stress will lead to diseases, more acute illnesses, negative mental health, lack of emotional control, irrational thoughts, and even genes that turn off positive proteins for your future kids. Stress completely changes the genetic make up of your body, and changes how your body and mind functions. As well, stress causes hormones that will lead to less energy, lack of motivation, moodiness, weight gain or weight loss, poor sleep, a weakened immune system, and potentially organs malfunctioning or failing. However, good stress causes muscles to grow, new neurones to fire and create pathways in the brain, confidence to develop, resilience to be created, and mental plus physical toughness to become a skill. Stress is experienced in the mind, pain is experienced in the body. When the mind can endure more stress than the body is wanting to take from pain, people call it mental toughness. This skill is what makes athletes of all types be able to endure physical endurance or "suffering" in order to achieve winning results, or completing amazing feats. Now too much stress good or bad will also take a toll on the body. You must understand how to balance the amount of good stress your body can take in order for it to be beneficial for growth. Regulate your stress levels by remembering to breath, and take breaks from intense periods of concentration or focus. It is never a good idea to take life too serious and apply more pressure than is already applied by outside forces. Control your self and remember if you are stressing, you're choosing to look at the results instead of living in the process. If you chose a career that entails more adversity and high performing pressure, than you need to be happy within yourself that your career is your passion. If you are doing it for the money, clout, or title, then the results is all you're focused on. Being result oriented will create stress, being process oriented will bring joy and focus towards being present. If you are present, grateful, joyful, playful, passionate, and happy, you will never be stressed. Stress comes from your perspectives. you can only do one task at a time, even if you have multiple projects to do on your desk. But remember, if you focus on everything you need to do, it will be overwhelming. If you just stay present and do as much as you can, reminding yourself tomorrow is another day. You will never stress yourself out over work. Be mindful of the career you choose... It's better to live your passion for a pay cut, than to be miserable for a 2 week vacation... Live a life that never needs a "vacation". Manage your stress levels or else one day you'll be wishing you did...
8. Listen to your gut instincts
Most people believe the brain is the driving factor for decision making and feelings. But, realistically your "Gut" instinct is what releases the hormones that connects to your central nervous system in order to make instinctual responses and feel "good". The gut produces approximately 95% of your serotonin in the body, if your gut health is out of alignment, you will have less abilities to be in-tune with this deep sense. The saying "listen to your gut instinct" is derived from the understanding that the gut is in charge of "feeling out" a situation in the present to help the mind decipher what is the best option or choice to make. Gut instincts can only happen in the moment. You can not think ahead with your gut, that is your imagination. Until placed in the situation or challenge, you will not know how you will actually respond to it until you're faced with it. Intuition is the super brain sense that can foreshadow a particular event or experience, but this take place in the brain. Intuition paired with a strong gut instinct, will make for a very aware and conscious person. When your gut is telling you something, pause and listen. Typically people mention their instincts during an exam or a time of higher pressure to perform. If they went with the first answer or choice that came to mind in those times, most likely the outcome would have been correct or best. The subconscious mind is able to guide you more than you realize, and when your gut is saying something, it's based off of your collected thoughts, memories, experiences, knowledge and wisdom. All of these combined with genetic instincts, will direct you at times of indecision. However, if your gut health is not functioning properly, you will lack the ability to use this sense to your advantage. Be very mindful of what you eat and consume, if it taste good but doesn't help your gut or body function at its highest, potentially you need to reduce or remove it entirely from your diet. Instincts are there for your protection and betterment of your life. Hinder your own super powers and be left to be controlled and mislead by others. Listen within, all answers of life truly come from within. You may see, hear or learn something, but until you rationalize it from within, you will never apply it. Trust yourself, listen to yourself, believe in yourself.
9. Learn from others don't copy...
See everyone around you as a vessel for learning and receiving wisdom. The universe likes to speak through others actions and words to guide you towards your best path. Some people rather follow than be a leader, but understand if you are not willing to lead yourself, you could be mislead by those who don't have your best interest at heart, or are living a life that is really not suited for you. Remember, you don't need to lead others, you just need to lead yourself. If you are wise about how you consciously pay attention to everyone and every thing, you will naturally be more intelligent and intuitive than most. People are meant to be an example of what can or will happen depending on the situation at hand. But, potentially the way you go about something could work better or worse. Many roads lead to Rome... Sometimes there is more than one way to do something. However, typically there are set ways that tend to be more effective or efficient in your efforts. If you try to copy someone, are you really being yourself? If you try to mimic someone else, can you live the life they're living since they've had completely different experiences, conditioning, and thoughts that led them to being someone you now praise or admire. Learn from others never copy. Because what works for one person may not work for another. Each individual has to try different things in order to really know what works the best for them. Maybe what that person does is smart, maybe it's not. Be willing to experiment and stay open to new things, so you can remain playful and intelligent about how you're choosing your way of living. You don't need to reinvent the wheel, but you do need to put your own spin on it, so it rolls best for you. If everyone were the same, life would be pretty boring, but the uniqueness of each person, bring so much spontaneity and fun to everyday encounters. Continue to have a growth mindset and you will always remain open to receive and learn. If you are copying someone else, you will feel like you're not expressing your true self. Be authentic, be genuine, be unique. Let go of copying someone because they look successful. Learn what they did to become successful, and over time you will know how to apply those principles or wisdom within your own life.
10. The more you do it, the less uncomfortable it becomes
Like anything, the more you do it, the better you get. But, also the more confident you become. For instance, if you went snowboarding for the first time in your life, there is a lot of fear from falling and embarrassing yourself. But, after a few days on the hill, you begin to stay on your feet more, and feel a bit more reassured that you're not an embarrassment to your friends or yourself. Eventually with time and consistency, you'll be carving, shredding and having so much fun that you'll forget about all those times you use to fall and get embarrassed. That's normal, it's a part of learning and getting outside of your comfort zone. However, if you allowed those fears to hold you back, you may never have gotten to experience the beauty of floating on the snow and feeling free as a bird. Understand this example, if you want to do the things that are truly amazing experiences or challenging to grasp, you need to be willing to fall down and get embarrassed time to time. It's just up to you if you take it to heart. Everyone had to learn at some point, but they knew the reward of being able to snowboard or ski is much greater than the risk of failing or looking like a beginner. The reason kids excel so quickly at new tasks is because they're not focused on anyone else but themselves, for the most part... Their mind is present, focused, and willing to fall in order to learn. They bounce back quickly, and just keep making adjustments. So learn from children, they typically are geniuses until parents or society dumb them down. Remember, anything great is worth doing poorly first. But, that doesn't mean you're going to remain poor at it forever. Some people are naturally quicker learners, but that usually means they have better mindsets and a better focus on staying invested in the process and the little details. The better you can stay one track oriented and give all your attention to the moment, the more you will rapidly develop your skills and give yourself the ability to grow. Keep trying, make adjustments, be willing to make mistakes, stay care free as a child, and you can master anything you put your mind too.
11. Stay conscious and aware at all times
The more you stay conscious and aware, the better you will handle everything in your life. If you are venturing into uncomfortable waters, you best be paying attention and focused on what you are doing, or potentially you could get hurt, physically or mentally. Remaining aware gives you the ability to respond correctly, instead of reacting irrationally. Typically most people get hurt because they panic. This is due to letting the focus slip away from what you can control, to what you can't. Depending on how uncomfortable the situation or challenge is, it will resort to fighting or flighting, and neither are beneficial. Having the ability to remain calm, collected, and conscious, will give you the best opportunity to perform at your highest potential for that specific task in that current moment. Imagine a rock climber is 1000Ft off the ground, only supported by a rope and a few anchors. If that individual loses focus of the next move, they potentially could fall, and risk injury. Now this an extreme case, but it puts it into perspective. For most this would be a VERY uncomfortable situation, and most would never put themselves in this position. However, you can learn from amazing people who consciously stay cool, calm, collected in uncomfortable times by staying aware of every point of contact and next move they are performing. Get focused on how much further the climb is or how far down the fall may be, and potentially something bad could happen. By remaining focused on what they can control, they scale mountain faces that no one thought could be possible. Take it to the next level, and try doing it without a rope!... Check out Alex Honnald in "Free Solo", it will blow your mind his ability to stay calm, calculated, and collected and VERY present in the moment. Even doctors scanned his brain, and he is able to completely turn off fear. How else could he enjoy doing this as his passion... lol. Understand these people do have a conscience about death. But, they do not let it control them or stop them from pursuing their passion. You could be faced with many opportunities in normal day living that can be fatal. But, your confidence, and control of yourself allow for them to not transpire. If someone gets into an accident, someone was not paying attention. Be aware, and conscious as much as possible, and you will be able to dictate majority of your outcomes or experiences. Plus, you will know how to adapt or adjust on the spot to make things work out better for your behalf.
Conclusion
Growth can only happen outside of your comfort zone. If you want to become the best version of yourself, you will need to continuously keep growing, which means constantly stepping outside of your boundaries. There needs to be realism to how far and how fast you push those boundaries, but as long as you are willing to venture into new terrain, you will always facilitate the opportunity for new growth. Remember to be calculated with the risk reward aspect of anything you do, to ensure you take things at the right pace and keep yourself safe while developing. It takes time to become the person you're envisioning, but you just have to control what you can control, and it will all work out in your favour. Staying focused on the positives and letting go of illusions like fear, will ensure you maintain a mindset that keeps you moving in the right direction. Focusing on quality of repetition and not quantity will help you take more steps forward than backwards, and allow for effective and efficient progress to always occur. Learning to love the process and enjoy the journey is crucial for maximizing the experience of life, and relishing in the beauty of life. You can only keep your memories, experiences, and bonds in this life, so make sure you soak them in as much as possible. Listen to the voice within, and guide yourself with logic and correct instincts, these are there to help you stay safe and thriving. Stay in-tune with your mind, body, and soul so your stress levels are manageable and within a healthy level. Stress is still stress, so good or bad, if you over do it, there will be consequences. Take work in strides, and learn to take breaks. Remain as conscious and aware as possible, so you can learn as much as you can from others and everything around you, to live the best life possible. Consistency will create confidence and success, so enjoy the beginner stages and feel appreciative of when you eventually become a pro. That process will make you feel happier with yourself that you actually earned it. No matter what it is, keep going out of your comfort zone, and you will live a passionate life that's wholesome, purposeful, and fulfilling.
Stay strong, stay consistent, stay healthy, stay in the moment
& keep developing yourself
Level Up
Love ❤️
Team Mindset
