How do I get out of my comfort zone? It's gotta be... (Part 1- The brain)

Happy Friday World

Fear is the seed of growth!

Wait, what? How can that be possible? How can I grow using my fear, when all I know is that fear implodes, constricts, limits and makes me feel so small and insignificant?

Well... We simply need to move away from the narratives and the horror stories of this FEAR TROLL and towards the knowledgeable side of the world.

Have I mentioned that knowledge is power? And fear keeps you in your comfort zone? And that knowledge beats fear any day, anytime?

Don't give me the philosophical "The more I grow, the less I know" because it ain't gonna fly- not here, not now, not ever! I promise you that if you can't see the connection between fear and growth thus far, by the time this series of articles is finished, it will all make sense. As the love of my life says "Just relax, just trust! You need to learn how to trust!" - Young Noah, The Notebook.

So, let's start living through our #senseofcuriosity. What is this fear thing, and why are we, humans, so tucked into our comfort zone? "Afraid of fear" - nailed it, I love this brain!

Oh yes, the brain... Maybe we can look into that, and some psychology and then make up some new poetry about fears? I like where this is going; you and I discovering fear, growing together out of our comfort zones and building this relationship strong...

This is part one of three SENSE-a-tional views on fear and how it can keep you into your comfort zone and away from living the dream life that you want.

1. Fear is just your brain throwing a tantrum

Doesn't that make you feel a little better, like the heaviness from your chest is being lifted into the outer space, far-far away from you?

In the most plastic, metaphoric way, fear is just a little girl throwing a tantrum... inside your brain.

Once you understand the biological basis of fear, and how it can evolve to rule your life and keep you in your comfort zone, it will be easier to knock it out of your way and own the fearless mentality and life that you so deserve.

Lesson 1 is understanding triggers. Triggers are the ones that keep you in between four walls, trapped within your own mind, and staying uneventfully cozy in your comfort zone. A trigger is an object or an event that causes a certain behavior a.k.a. a picture of a snake giving you goosebumps, the moving motion of a train blanking your vision and paralyzing your body via. panic attack, your date bringing you so much happiness that you freak out and shut the front door, not pursuing your dream career because you have failed other opportunities in the past. These are just a few of the popular kids on the block bulling your urge to break free from your comfort zone. It is important to understand the notion of triggers and to identify the ones that make your life a soft dawn blanket, because once you do learn to recognize their devilish intricacies in your life, you can start working on easing your way into your fears versus allowing fear to take over your life.

Lesson 2 is your brain structure- inside your nutcase, there is this mushy gooey white matter folded into two massive creases a.k.a. hemispheres called the brain, and somewhere in the middle of that are two structures called the amygdala and the hippocampus. These two fellaz are found in both hemispheres, and as we now know the left hemisphere is the smart kid doing logic and mathematical solving, while the right hemisphere is the creative kid expressing emotions and exploring his imagination. The amigdalae and hippocampi are found in both hemispheres, and the illustrations below do a really good job showing the location of each structure in our right hemisphere. Now, the amygdala is the structure that forms and stores memories associated with emotional events; it is the one telling you to get defensive, raises your heart rate, and produces too much cortisol- the stress hormone. Let's call it The Joker. And so, The Joker messes around with your brain, tells you that you need to freak out and choose flight over fight. The hippocampus, on the other hand, is the structure that allows you to form new memories about past events; it is the one keeping you in a nonjudgmental state, replacing anxiety with serenity and healing you of the past sorrows. Let's call it Professor X. And so, Professor X is the holder of change; the one that allows you to heal from past events, form new memories, change the way you see the world, and move outside of your comfort zone by choosing to fight your fears and insecurities.

Lesson 3: Let's do the math, shall we?

Trigger + Amygdala = Comfort Zone Boring Zone Death Zone

Trigger + Hippocampus = Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

Just take a second, remove yourself from the emotions and insecurities - which are part of being human, but so is escaping your own daemons, and think about this process. What is fear really? Why is it controlling your life? After all, fear is just a word associated with an emotion, which nevertheless is real because it creates a physiological response, but it's just a mechanical response: a bunch of electric signals in your brain firing away, making you feel insecure for no reason. Well, back in the day, there used to be a good reason such as when you see the lion running towards you, flight strategy 101 - find the nearest tree and climb it. But nowadays, these fears are disguised into "Should I approach that girl I am so attracted to?", "Should I speak up and ask for that salary increase that I so deserve?", "Should I take that trip to Europe?", "Should I use my cumulative skills and experience to start my own company?" , "Should I ... ?"

Well... The Joker (a.k.a. amygdala, in case you forgot our little nicknames) says "Don't!", but the truth of the reality is, Professor X can override The Joker!

I cannot stress how detrimental it is to understand this raw process of fear: it's like glancing at one of those fancy watches that shows you the entire mechanism inside the watch- you get it. You get why it is so hard to change behavior once you understand that the amygdala is faster than the hippocampus and frontal cortex (the part of your brain closest to your forehead), at commanding behaviour and that it takes time and effort to change the way you react to certain triggers. Knowing the biological basis of fear, and understanding that fear is the only emotion keeping you in your comfort zone, will remove thoughts of "It was never meant to be", "I am just not good enough", "I wasn't made for this", and the last one that I hear so very often "I can't do it! I am afraid!". You think you cannot do it because your amygdala has learned to command you to fly away and never face your fears, but once you understand that it is not an innate ability to fly away, but a habit, things change. You change the way you view your own capabilities, you change the way you respond to situations that scare the life out of you, you change the way you think about who you are and what you can achieve.

Here's a tweetable for you: "Dearest #amygdala, We are through. I found a new love- my #hippocampus, to break free of my comfort zone" #livelifethroughyoursenses 

Part 2 of How Do I Get Out of My Comfort Zone? It's gotta be.. will give you the psychological view on how fear keeps us in our comfort zone, some practical and fun ways to replace fear of exiting your comfort zone with confidence, and powerful mindful engagements in anything and everything that you could possibly imagine doing.


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oxx,