Leave Your Comfort Zones Behind To Unlock Limitless Growth

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.

Transcript

Gregg Berman: 0:01

Ready to unlock your full potential, join me, Gregg Berman. Your guide to self-discovery, self-acceptance and joy. This podcast blends life coaching, mindfulness and the power of nature to help you manage anxiety, cultivate self-compassion and embrace your true self. You'll find solace, guidance and inspiration as we develop actionable strategies to break free from self-doubt and limiting beliefs, to step into the fullness of who you are meant to be. Along our journey, we'll embrace the imperfection, fallibility and messiness of what it means to be a human with love, care and acceptance for all of who you are. This is your sanctuary for a more mindful, authentic and fulfilling life. Let's embark on this journey together, as we give you permission to be your full self. Thank you for continuing this journey with me and for those that are new here, welcome.

Gregg Berman: 1:08

It's been a little over 48 hours since I figured out how to record. I'm still not totally sure how to do it and, honestly, I'm feeling a little bit rushed Because I'm heading out of town in less than 12 hours and I still haven't finished packing. I'm excited to be heading to Soul Play Festival for four days. I've been to this festival many times and it's always a wonderful experience, though it can be hard as well. Soul Play Festival is about connection and growth and human empowerment. It's filled with workshops on dance, on sexuality, on social justice, on nature, connection and so much more connection and so much more, and it's filled with an opportunity to be with our discomforts and to grow through that process as well. In fact, that's what this episode will be about. But before we get there, I'm also headed to the coast of Mendocino to kayak with some friends that I haven't seen in a while. The Mendocino coastline is awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping. It's spectacularly beautiful, and we can ride waves through arches, into sea caves the size that you could fit a house into, ride waves over rocks and through all kinds of features. It's truly a delight. I'm super excited for what my week has in store for me the opportunity to rest and recharge my internal batteries, and there's a part of me that's feeling a little guilty for the rough nature of doing this show today. So my apologies in advance, but I hope you'll find it useful all the same. Advance, but I hope you'll find it useful all the same. As I shared previously, soulplay is a really wonderful experience, filled with lots of opportunities, and it can also be a place to explore our discomforts. That's one of the very things that makes it such an amazing opportunity for growth, because when we are willing to step out of our comfort zone, the amount of growth that we can experience is immeasurable. And in that vein, I want to share with you my newsletter from January 4th 2024, entitled how Chasing Comfort Keeps Us Uncomfortable.

Gregg Berman: 4:23

The three quotes in this article have deeply spoken to me. The more I can embrace their wisdom, the richer my life becomes. It's not always an easy path, but the increased freedom has been well worth it. 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 your tolerance for discomfort. For discomfort, our conscious and subconscious mind will find all kinds of excuses and rationalizations to keep us in our comfort zone. Our mind wants to keep us safe, so this makes logical sense. But that means whenever we try something new that stretches us, our minds will put all kinds of blocks in the way of achieving this new goal. This is especially true if we are consciously making comfort our goal.

Gregg Berman: 5:37

I, for example, used to have extreme social anxiety. I remember in my early 20s, depressed and lonely. I wished I had one friend, somebody to talk to. I so wanted to find a path out of that dynamic. But I also did not want to be uncomfortable. Of course, staying stuck was uncomfortable in itself. I did not want to risk embarrassment or getting it wrong, so I largely avoided social situations, or my body would just get tired, as a way of avoiding the risk. After all, if I'm tired or sleepy, I can't do anything, and it's a perfect excuse to avoid. And when I was in a conversation or social setting, I was consciously and unconsciously looking for any escape, for fear that it might get awkward, for fear that I might run out of something to say, while simultaneously I was hoping next time it will be better.

Gregg Berman: 6:44

I was always focused on next time rather than focused on the moment that I was hoping next time it will be better. I was always focused on next time rather than focused on the moment that I was in. Here's a quote from David Bowie If you feel safe in the area you are working, you're not in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you're capable of being in. Go a little out of your depth. And when you don't feel your feet are quite touching the bottom. You're just about in the right place to do something exciting. So back to my story.

Gregg Berman: 7:23

The impact that not doing things had was to limit my growth. Because I so rarely engaged, because I was not willing to even try, even though I wanted to, I not only remained stuck in the same spot, but I actually reinforced the belief that I don't know how. So instead of having a different experience the next time, I was just more sure I was going to screw it up if I tried. Social anxiety was only one of many realms in which this pattern showed up for me. The same was true when learning to kayak, trying to write articles, build my business and so much more. The effort to try to be comfortable kept me from growing, kept me from playing, kept me from trying. The fear of embarrassment, the fear of doing it wrong, the fear of being abandoned by others if I messed up. Until I learned that not only would discomfort not hurt me, it could actually begin to feel exciting, because it meant I was growing, I was learning and switching my paradigm, and as I embraced the idea that it was okay to feel some discomfort, that is when what once felt impossible became a little easier and easier and eventually easeful.

Gregg Berman: 9:05

As you expand your comfort zone, those places where you struggle can become strengths. The journey is not always an easy one. I have some tools to help you get there with greater ease. If you'd like to learn more, reach out and let's have a conversation, because, as Andrew Bustamante with the Fearless man program says, the quality of our life is in direct proportion to the level of uncertainty that we can comfortably live with. I know that my life has certainly grown as I've embraced uncertainty and discomfort, and I want the same freedom for you. Is there something in your life right now that is calling out for you to gain new resources, to cultivate more trust in yourself and to show up more compassionately with yourself in the struggle? If so, reach out to me. Let's have a conversation. I'd be honored to support you.

Gregg Berman: 10:16

In the meantime, I'm going to continue figuring out the process of creating this show and making it the best it can possibly be. If you have any suggestions at all for things that would serve you, better topics you'd like me to cover, or any other suggestions to enhance the experience, please let me know. You can reach me through my website, inconnectionwithnaturecom. If any part of this episode resonates with you, I'd love to hear what you're taking away from it. If any part of this episode resonates with you, I'd love to hear what you're taking away from it, and it would mean the world to me if you would put a like and a comment wherever you get your podcast and, of course, subscribe and share far and wide with anyone you think this might speak to.

Gregg Berman: 11:02

That will really help me to grow. The more I grow, the more resourced I can be for you and I want to be there for you, and I'm excited to see where this journey takes us. And remember you can find your own way and have permission to be your full self. If you need support around that, I'm here to help you. I've developed a host of resources to support you, which you can find out more about on my website, inconnectionwithnaturecom. Well, that's all for this week. I'll see you in the next episode. May you have an empowering week.