4028: Challenges and Comfort Zones by Ryan Larson of First Line Fin on Personal Growth

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[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_01] This is Optimal Living Daily. This is Optimal Living Daily. Challenges and Comfort Zones by Ryan Larson of FirstLineFin.com. And I'm Justin Malik, your personal narrator. We're going to get right to it as we optimize your life. Challenges and Comfort Zones by Ryan Larson of FirstLineFin.com. Quote,

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_01] Challenges are what make life interesting. And overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Joshua Marine. Comfort Zones are cozy, but staying in them forever won't get you very far. In fact, you won't go anywhere at all because the prerequisite to growth and improvement is, drumroll please, challenging yourself.

[00:01:46] [SPEAKER_01] Every leap outside your comfort zone is an opportunity to learn something new and improve an area of your life. For example, maybe you dislike heights and aren't a fan of the outdoors, but your friends ask you to tag along for a camelback hike. You could say no and miss out, or you could give it a go and see what it's like. By choosing to go, you're giving yourself the opportunity to succeed at something you didn't realize you could.

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_01] And when you overcome a difficult obstacle, your confidence magnifies and you're more prepared for the next challenge. The same applies for your career, relationship, health, finances, and personal life. The more challenges you successfully overcome, the more confidence you build. But confidence isn't the only reason to take a dive outside your comfort zone. Science also shows challenging yourself can help you perform at your peak.

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_01] As in, a little anxiety can be the push you need to succeed at new hard things. On the flip side, if you decide to stay complacent and do only what's easy, you'll never know your true potential. If you're still not convinced to take on a challenge, maybe this factoid will help. Continuously challenging yourself helps you age better. Science shows people who challenge themselves to learn new skills and take on difficult tasks while maintaining a strong social circle,

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_01] stay sharper, longer. Not only will your confidence be strong, but your mind will be stronger. It's important to note that you don't have to succeed at every challenge to reap the benefits. You just have to be willing to try. Take an example from our advisor, Ryan, the Savvy Investor guy. Quote, I remember when I started off in this industry, there were numerous challenges I had to overcome, but the biggest of them all was public speaking.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_01] Mind you, as a child, I had a hard time with enunciating, so most of my elementary school years was spent in speech therapy. That did not bode well for my confidence, to say the least. I avoided any chances of public speaking or even speaking in front of a classroom. Fast forward to my first full year as an advisor, and I had to present to a room full of retirees on the topic of annuities. There was so much pressure.

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_01] My first presentation, educating individuals that were twice if not thrice my age, and trying to look credible. The latter was extremely hard, as I've been told I have a baby face. I thought long and hard during the whole process of prepping for this moment, and questioning if this was for me, or if I overextended my potential. But I kept going, driven to accomplish what I set out to do. Sitting in the restroom 30 minutes before, I had to confront my fear. I did everything I could think of to shake the jitters away.

[00:04:28] [SPEAKER_01] I played music, did jumping jacks, and then push-ups, but nothing helped, and I ended up puking my nerves away. Was this it? Did I overextend my potential? At that moment, I'd have to agree. But knowing what I know now, and having lived and survived that moment, my future self would have to say no. From the words of the inspiring Tony Robbins, Fear is built in your nervous system as a survival instinct, so it's always going to be there. You just have to deal with it.

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_01] And how do you deal with it? Your desire has to be greater than your fear. Another way to do it is to turn fear on itself. I remember stumbling many times during that presentation, even forgetting some of the big points I really wanted the audience to hone in on. But that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that I accomplished one of the biggest challenges of my life up to that point. I continued to present numerous times after that, but I stumbled less and less, and my confidence grew and grew.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_01] End quote. Winning isn't where the growth lives. Leaping is where the magic happens. One more thing, there's a fine line between challenging yourself and overwhelming yourself. It's okay to take breaks from productivity and the constant need to do. Rest is essential. Take it. Today, we challenge you to take a leap. Look, try something new. Step outside your comfort zone and embrace whatever challenges come your way. Not sure where to start?

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_01] Try one of these. Sign up for a class on something you've never tried before. Cooking, dancing, art, or golf. Learn a new language, and if possible, visit the country they speak it in to use your new skills and experience a new culture. Attend an event or speaker alone. Force yourself to meet new people and spark up conversations. Have the money talk with your significant other. Try a new recipe. Train for a race or triathlon.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_01] Experience one of Arizona's beautiful hikes. Bring lots of water. Sign up to be a mentor for troubled youth, or get involved in a volunteer program. Join Toastmasters and up your public speaking game. Or declutter your home and sell or donate all your extra stuff. You just listened to the post titled, Challenges and Comfort Zones, by Ryan Larson of FirstlineFine.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_01] Thank you, Orion. I'm sure deep down we do know this, that growth can't happen without challenge and adversity. And that happens on a cellular level. With our muscles, for instance, after you work out, the muscle fibers are damaged. Then our bodies have to repair or replace them. But that process helps because it increases the thickness and quantity of those fibers, making us stronger. It's a great analogy for the personal growth we experience ourselves.

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_01] This is one of the reasons I try to encourage action after hearing these articles. I could personally just simply read these articles every day and not do anything myself. And while my knowledge would increase, which is great, possibly my awareness too, also great, not much else would happen. We'd matrophy, which would be a shame. It takes that effort to try something new, possibly fail, and either try again or move on to something else to actually grow.

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_01] Now, that doesn't mean we should try all the things, like signing up for a cooking class while learning a new language and training for a triathlon, but instead picking one challenge that we think will help us the most for where we currently are in life and seeing how that goes. So pick those battles. Thank you for being here and listening to me and for subscribing to or following the show. And I'll be back tomorrow reading to you where your optimal life awaits.