Stretching Beyond Your Comfort Zone

[featured_image]
Recently I took my family on the Discovery Challenge Course at the South Bellevue Community Center. We joined together with a group of other parents and children to ascend 45 feet into the trees attached with harnesses and leaped across open spaces and transversed beams and zip lines and ropes and planks to reach new platforms.

It was an amazing thrill. I actually loved it! Here I am jumping off a perfectly safe platform and climbing across the ropes to the other side.

Before we climbed up in to the trees, the staff oriented us as we put on the equipment. They show us how to use it safely. And then they let us practice these new skills on the ground.

Just a short time later we were over 40 feet off the ground with freedom to explore!

Before I started, one of the staff challenged us to push ourselves beyond our comfort zone. With his specific challenge to push myself beyond my fear, I found myself motivated to take on this adventure with a motivation to take risks and not hold back.

With each new challenge on the course, I continued to push myself to not hold back!

After completed every aspect of the adventure including the zip line, I had an amazing sense of satisfaction. I had faced my fears and experienced victory!

I realized that the challenging words from the instructor had enabled me to go beyond on my fear. His challenge stayed with me the entire time I was up there!

Now I have to confess that I’ve had two major fears in life. One of them is drowning and the other is falling. Several years ago I faced my fear of drowning head on after becoming a certified diver. Last week I faced my fear of falling on the Discovery Challenge Course. In both cases, I was stretched beyond my comfort zone.

Coaches Stretch Leaders Beyond What is Comfortable

This is what I try to do when I am coaching. I want to stretch leaders to push themselves further than they have gone before. I want to build their confidence in their ability to succeed.

Sometimes this is done with a challenging word. Other times I raise their awareness of what is possible to accomplish, or help them to see how far they’ve come.

I know for me that day in the trees, I would not have accomplished what I did without the instructor being there with me. And I know that as I coach leaders, there are many times they wouldn’t have stepped out without me as their partner. But that’s what I’m there for.

Coaches come alongside leaders and help them to succeed. That’s what we do!

How do you need to be stretched? Who is coaching you to go beyond your comfort zone?