Leave Your Comfort Zones Behind To Unlock Limitless Growth

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Ever wondered how stepping out of your comfort zone could unlock a new chapter in your life? Join me, Gregg Berman, as I share my personal journey of embracing discomfort for growth. From anxiety-laden adventures at the SoulPlay Festival to the exhilarating experience of kayaking along the Mendocino coastline, this episode uncovers the transformative power of pushing boundaries. I'll also delve into the insights I gained from influential mentors like Peter Sage and David Bowie, discussing how the relentless chase for comfort can often stifle our true potential and prevent us from seizing life’s myriad opportunities.

Beyond my personal anecdotes, this episode highlights the significance of continual self-discovery and growth—not just for our own benefit but to better support each other. I’m thrilled to offer valuable resources through my website, inconnectionwithnature.com, designed to help you on your path. As we wrap up, I’ll leave you with an empowering message for the week ahead, urging you to balance comfort and growth with confidence. Let's navigate this messy, beautiful process of being human together and embrace the journey of becoming who we are truly meant to be.

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My Blog:
https://www.inconnectionwithnature.com/blog

My Website:
https://www.inconnectionwithnature.com/

EFT Tapping Meditation on Self Compassion:
https://youtu.be/R7XpdDl_Bdo?si=HlswKsV_TScAdJpf

My article on our self talk:
Tiny Buddha - How Our Self Talk Can Sabotage Or Support Us

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/inconnectionwithnature/

Episode Transcript

Gregg Berman (00:01):
Ready to unlock your full potential, join me,
Gregg Berman.
Your guide to self-discovery,self-acceptance and joy.
This podcast blends lifecoaching, mindfulness and the
power of nature to help youmanage anxiety, cultivate
self-compassion and embrace yourtrue self.
You'll find solace, guidanceand inspiration as we develop

(00:26):
actionable strategies to breakfree from self-doubt and
limiting beliefs, to step intothe fullness of who you are
meant to be.
Along our journey, we'llembrace the imperfection,
fallibility and messiness ofwhat it means to be a human with
love, care and acceptance forall of who you are.

(00:46):
This is your sanctuary for amore mindful, authentic and
fulfilling life.
Let's embark on this journeytogether, as we give you
permission to be your full self.
Thank you for continuing thisjourney with me and for those

(01:07):
that are new here, welcome.
It's been a little over 48 hourssince I figured out how to
record.
I'm still not totally sure howto do it and, honestly, I'm
feeling a little bit rushedBecause I'm heading out of town
in less than 12 hours and Istill haven't finished packing.
I'm excited to be heading toSoul Play Festival for four days

(01:30):
.
I've been to this festival manytimes and it's always a
wonderful experience, though itcan be hard as well.
Soul Play Festival is aboutconnection and growth and human
empowerment.
It's filled with workshops ondance, on sexuality, on social

(01:57):
justice, on nature, connectionand so much more connection and
so much more, and it's filledwith an opportunity to be with
our discomforts and to growthrough that process as well.
In fact, that's what thisepisode will be about.
But before we get there, I'malso headed to the coast of

(02:20):
Mendocino to kayak with somefriends that I haven't seen in a
while.
The Mendocino coastline isawe-inspiring and jaw-dropping.
It's spectacularly beautiful,and we can ride waves through
arches, into sea caves the sizethat you could fit a house into,

(02:46):
ride waves over rocks andthrough all kinds of features.
It's truly a delight.
I'm super excited for what myweek has in store for me the

(03:07):
opportunity to rest and rechargemy internal batteries, and
there's a part of me that'sfeeling a little guilty for the
rough nature of doing this showtoday.
So my apologies in advance, butI hope you'll find it useful
all the same.
Advance, but I hope you'll findit useful all the same.

(03:30):
As I shared previously,soulplay is a really wonderful
experience, filled with lots ofopportunities, and it can also
be a place to explore ourdiscomforts.
That's one of the very thingsthat makes it such an amazing
opportunity for growth, becausewhen we are willing to step out

(03:53):
of our comfort zone, the amountof growth that we can experience
is immeasurable.
And in that vein, I want toshare with you my newsletter
from January 4th 2024, entitledhow Chasing Comfort Keeps Us

(04:19):
Uncomfortable.
The three quotes in this articlehave deeply spoken to me.
The more I can embrace theirwisdom, the richer my life
becomes.
It's not always an easy path,but the increased freedom has
been well worth it.

(04:40):
We all want to feel comfortable, but could that desire for
comfort actually be limiting you?
One of my mentors, peter Sage,says we see comfort as an
achievement, and the truth is,comfort is actually defined as

(05:00):
your tolerance for discomfort.
For discomfort, our consciousand subconscious mind will find
all kinds of excuses andrationalizations to keep us in
our comfort zone.
Our mind wants to keep us safe,so this makes logical sense.
But that means whenever we trysomething new that stretches us,

(05:23):
our minds will put all kinds ofblocks in the way of achieving
this new goal.
This is especially true if weare consciously making comfort
our goal.
I, for example, used to haveextreme social anxiety.
I remember in my early 20s,depressed and lonely.
I wished I had one friend,somebody to talk to.

(05:47):
I so wanted to find a path outof that dynamic.
But I also did not want to beuncomfortable.
Of course, staying stuck wasuncomfortable in itself.
I did not want to riskembarrassment or getting it
wrong, so I largely avoidedsocial situations, or my body

(06:10):
would just get tired, as a wayof avoiding the risk.
After all, if I'm tired orsleepy, I can't do anything, and
it's a perfect excuse to avoid.
And when I was in aconversation or social setting,
I was consciously andunconsciously looking for any

(06:31):
escape, for fear that it mightget awkward, for fear that I
might run out of something tosay, while simultaneously I was
hoping next time it will bebetter.
I was always focused on nexttime rather than focused on the
moment that I was hoping nexttime it will be better.
I was always focused on nexttime rather than focused on the
moment that I was in.
Here's a quote from David BowieIf you feel safe in the area

(07:00):
you are working, you're not inthe right area.
Always go a little further intothe water than you feel you're
capable of being in.
Go a little out of your depth.
And when you don't feel yourfeet are quite touching the
bottom.
You're just about in the rightplace to do something exciting.
So back to my story.

(07:23):
The impact that not doing thingshad was to limit my growth.
Because I so rarely engaged,because I was not willing to
even try, even though I wantedto, I not only remained stuck in
the same spot, but I actuallyreinforced the belief that I

(07:45):
don't know how.
So instead of having adifferent experience the next
time, I was just more sure I wasgoing to screw it up if I tried
.
Social anxiety was only one ofmany realms in which this
pattern showed up for me.
The same was true when learningto kayak, trying to write

(08:09):
articles, build my business andso much more.
The effort to try to becomfortable kept me from growing
, kept me from playing, kept mefrom trying.
The fear of embarrassment, thefear of doing it wrong, the fear
of being abandoned by others ifI messed up.

(08:30):
Until I learned that not onlywould discomfort not hurt me, it
could actually begin to feelexciting, because it meant I was
growing, I was learning andswitching my paradigm, and as I
embraced the idea that it wasokay to feel some discomfort,

(08:52):
that is when what once feltimpossible became a little
easier and easier and eventuallyeaseful.
As you expand your comfort zone,those places where you struggle
can become strengths.
The journey is not always aneasy one.

(09:13):
I have some tools to help youget there with greater ease.
If you'd like to learn more,reach out and let's have a
conversation, because, as AndrewBustamante with the Fearless
man program says, the quality ofour life is in direct
proportion to the level ofuncertainty that we can

(09:35):
comfortably live with.
I know that my life hascertainly grown as I've embraced
uncertainty and discomfort, andI want the same freedom for you
.
Is there something in your liferight now that is calling out

(09:55):
for you to gain new resources,to cultivate more trust in
yourself and to show up morecompassionately with yourself in
the struggle?
If so, reach out to me.
Let's have a conversation.
I'd be honored to support you.

(10:16):
In the meantime, I'm going tocontinue figuring out the
process of creating this showand making it the best it can
possibly be.
If you have any suggestions atall for things that would serve
you, better topics you'd like meto cover, or any other
suggestions to enhance theexperience, please let me know.
You can reach me through mywebsite,

(10:38):
inconnectionwithnaturecom.
If any part of this episoderesonates with you, I'd love to
hear what you're taking awayfrom it.
If any part of this episoderesonates with you, I'd love to
hear what you're taking awayfrom it, and it would mean the
world to me if you would put alike and a comment wherever you
get your podcast and, of course,subscribe and share far and
wide with anyone you think thismight speak to.

(11:02):
That will really help me to grow.
The more I grow, the moreresourced I can be for you and I
want to be there for you, andI'm excited to see where this
journey takes us.
And remember you can find yourown way and have permission to
be your full self.

(11:22):
If you need support around that, I'm here to help you.
I've developed a host ofresources to support you, which
you can find out more about onmy website,
inconnectionwithnaturecom.
Well, that's all for this week.
I'll see you in the nextepisode.
May you have an empowering week.