Last week was about parenting and tailoring support.  This week is about expanding your comfort zone.

About a year ago, Cameron watched his sister in The Wizard of Oz on the big stage in the spring play.  This sparked Cam’s interest in doing something similar.  The only problem was that he was nervous and scared to do something like that.  This was outside of his comfort zone.  Instead of giving up, Cam thought about things he could do to expand his current comfort zone, so being on the big stage wouldn’t be such a big leap.  He started by signing up for a puppet camp last summer.  Then he signed up and participated in a fall show with younger kids.  He found he enjoyed those two things, and this gave him the confidence to be in a bigger show.  A few weeks ago, he was on the big stage in Beauty and the Beast.  He was in the ensemble, so mainly in the background as a villager and a dancing spoon.  However, he ended up getting one line.  He’s proud of being the angry mob member who yelled, “Kill him!” which started everyone to go after the Beast.  Now that he’s had one line, he’s starting to think about auditioning for a bigger part next year.  The audition is a little daunting, so he’s already thinking of smaller things he can do to stretch his comfort zone for that.

What does this have to do with anything?  Cam saw how far out of his comfort zone being on stage was, and instead of giving up he became INTENTIONAL about taking small steps to expand his comfort zone.  The first couple of shows gave him confidence.  Then practicing for the big show set up him for success.  By the time he was on the show, he was 100% feeling himself, and I loved his swagger 😉 Now think about your own life.  Are there things you’d like to do outside of your comfort zone?  Those things might seem too big and too scary now, but are there small steps you can take to move toward them?

The challenge: How will you expand your comfort zone?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry