Say bye to your comfort zone

Hello!

Coming to you live from our new spot in Oregon, this past week we’ve been enjoying walks along the river and getting settled in (while still waiting for most of our things to come) and planning to go on our first hike this weekend! I hope your weekend is going well and you spend some time today doing a quick happiness reset (even if it’s just reading this newsletter) to help start your week off well.

If you have been enjoying reading this newsletter, I would be so appreciative if you scroll to the bottom when you are done reading and hit “click to share” and share this with just ONE person you think would benefit from reading this as well. Thank you!!!

Today, I’m going to be discussing the topic that you all voted on Instagram that you wanted me to share more about - getting out of your comfort zone to make your happy!

It’s easy to be comfortable - to stay safe in what you know well. It’s easy to work within your bounds and to do things that feel easy because of familiarity. But, it’s been proven (and I can confirm from my own life experience) that there’s something special that happens outside your comfort zone. In fact, there is science to back up how doing things you don’t want to do grow an area of your brain that increases your will to live. I’m sure you’ve also heard this before….

Hopefully this little pep talk has now convinced you to try something (that thing has probably already popped up in your head) you are not comfortable with, but your next question is where the heck do I begin, Charishma? Well, funny you should ask…

• Breakdown what you want to do into little baby steps. A step that feels so little out of your comfort zone that it feels easy to take. For example, say you want to run a 5k? I would start with going for a walk for 10 mins. You want to take an art class? Step 1 can be as small as spending 10 mins looking for what type of class you might want to take. The key is to keep the discomfort to a level that feels manageable and to ride with the forward momentum.

• When one of these steps start to feel too uncomfortable, go for repetition. Usually repeating a task a few times starts to tell your brain it’s something it already knows and brings down the anxiety associated with it.

• You might feel like you failed but know that even just trying is better than not. The fear of trying something new is just a fear of failing but because you have already tried, that’s a win! Use that experience as a way to provide a little more familiarity for next time.

• Let go of your expectations to be perfect, I can guarantee you no one is perfect at something they try for the first time, or even the first few times. Sometimes it isn’t even about how “good” you are at something, but the fact that you pushed yourself to do it.

• Rely on your support / accountability buddy. It always helps to have a cheerleader who can help you through this - be it to do something with you (taking a new dance class with a friend is so much easier than going alone!) and it can be a really great bonding experience together as well.

• When you come up with an excuse for not wanting to do it, sit with that for a bit and think about 1) how it is showing up in your body - is it tightness in your chest, sweaty palms etc. even just recognizing this can help so much. 2) find the real “why”. Are you too tired to do it or are you just scared of something? Be honest with how you really feel.

• Reward yourself for the little wins. The same way you reward a puppy with treats for performing a trick correctly, you can reward yourself for every little bit you go out of your comfort zone.

• Treat yourself with kindness and grace, the same way you would treat a loved one.

• Have fun with it and take breaks as needed! Remember why you wanted to try this in the first place and appreciate how far you have come from having the idea to getting out there and giving yourself a chance.

• Be proud of yourself because Boomer and I are!!!!

Leave a comment here if you try something (and read through the wonderful things this community has been doing for some inspiration!)

If you are looking to bring your dog on an adventure this summer, I want to present to you a small little beach town in SLO county in California - PISMO BEACH.

Where we stayed : We were hosted at Dolphin Bay (which was extremely dog friendly and had a kitchen as well) and a really good restaurant (Lido) in the hotel!

Where we ate : I still think about the dirty buffalo wrap from Hoagies! The food at Lido was really amazing (recommend going here for sunset)

One spot you can’t miss : The sand dunes! You can rent ATVs and they are dog friendly!!! Such a fun experience to bring your pup to! You can watch the full video of our trip here - we share about the stay and ATV experience.

One easy/healthy recipe to try : 

As promised, I actually made what I had shared during last week’s newsletter this week and it was really good! This is my favorite go to breakfast and we modify everything in there.

One positive affirmation to remember : 

I am open to experiences that bring growth

One thing I am actually obsessed with :

I love this matching set that’s cozy but makes me feel like I am ready to go out!

I’m so so excited to be starting an accountability group with some of you this month. It’s a small group for first time to see how it goes on how we can all support each other on our daily goals for this month! While this group is closed for now, if you would sign up to be a part of a future group, please fill out this form. I hope you have a great June (out of your comfort zone) and I can’t wait for us to find more health and happiness, together!

With fluffy hugs, 

Charishma + Boomer (@life.with.a.landcloud)