Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone Is Necessary For Success

"To be successful, all you have to do 

is give up everything you know."

~Asara Lovejoy

O.K., this isn't quite true, but it seems like it.  To be successful, you need to be able to let go of preconceived notions, long-standing limitations and habits that don't serve you.  You need to get out of your comfort zone and stretch yourself.  Sometimes when you are doing things that feel uncomfortable, or struggling to learn new skills, you may feel like you are having to give up everything you know.  Remember that new skills feel uncomfortable until you practice them.  In time and with practice, they become second nature.  

This week:   Take an honest look at where you stand with your success, however you define it.  How well is your old approach working for you?  Do you need a new approach?  Do you need to find new models for success?  Do you need to develop new skills?  If you could stretch yourself in only ONE area, would it make a difference?  Use this inventory to identify ways you may need to "step up your game."  Identify an area in which you could stretch yourself.  Outline a plan for making that happen.  Now, this week, before any more time has passed, take the first step in that plan.  Congratulations!  You are stepping outside your comfort zone!

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people achieve goals they had not thought even possible using her solution focused approach.  She specializes in helping people overcome the mindset limitations that block their success (and happiness).  For more information, go to http://www.InnerResourceCenter.com .  

If You Want Your Life to Be Different, You Have to Decide to Change

"You are the way you are because that's the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different, you would be in the process of changing right now."

~Fred Smith

We all have the ability to change in ways that will make our lives work better for us--to be happier, more successful, more satisfied with our lives.  But the most important thing to do is to DECIDE to change.  Once that happens, you can set into motion ways to change what isn't working.

This week:  Think about how your life is right now.  What isn't working for you?  What would make your life more satisfying?  Make sure you are thinking about YOUR life, and not someone else's.  You don't have the ability to make someone else behave differently--you can only change yourself.  DECIDE to change some area of your life during 2010.  Really commit yourself to making this change.  Make sure what you decide to change is something that is really compelling for you.  Otherwise you won't make the change.  Now decide what steps you will need to take to make those changes.  Congratulations!  You have just laid out a plan for making a change that is important to you!

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people make changes to bring greater meaning, satisfaction, happiness and success to their lives.  Using her 30 + years of experience, she helps find just the right resources to help you change.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Strength and Confidence Come from Within

"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time."

~Anna Freud

Many people think that strength and confidence comes from how others react to us and what they think of us. The truth is that strength and confidence comes from what we choose to believe about ourselves. We can choose to believe that we have the skills and abilities that make us strong and confident. Or we can choose to believe that only others possess these traits. What you choose to believe about yourself influences how you will live your life. Your beliefs can make you strong, and confident, and successful.

This week: When you find yourself in a challenging situation, experiment with the belief that you have all the skills you need to handle it. Play with the idea that you are strong and confident. Notice that when you begin to believe this might be true, you begin to feel stronger and more confident.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people change limiting beliefs and create greater happiness and success. She helps people identify and let go of their "emotional clutter"--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs that keep them stuck. For more information and to download free resources, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .