What Does Your Comfort Zone Have to Say About Your New Year’s Goals?

Have big plans for 2024? How long will you stick with them?

What goals did you make at the end of last year?

It’s only a few days ago, have you kept your goal or have you already let it slide? I traditionally plan a few goals for the start of the new year and this year is no different. I’m off and running on them and so far, day 2, I’m still on track.

Here are a couple: 1- write and post daily and 2- exercise both am (more intense) and pm (walk after dinner).

Are you the same person you were last year?

Are your habits and thoughts the same?

Do you still have the same habits you didn’t like last year? Do you continue to do and think the same about yourself and abilities even though you promised yourself you would change? If you’re in the same place you were last year, good luck with the new year, it’s going to take a lot more than “setting goals” to get you where you want to be.

Your comfort zone will take down your “new goals” in a heartbeat.

What do you think will be different this year?

We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them

— Albert Einstein

Nothing changes when you don’t change.

In order to reach a goal, YOU have to change to make the goal happen. You have to take different actions than you’ve taken up until this moment. Goals are set by your expectations of what you think your life should be.

Either set a goal you’ve already reached in the past, or change your actions to meet one you haven’t met yet.

Your comfort zone is what you know automatically, without thinking.

It’s made of habits, beliefs about yourself and others, and actions you take that aren’t uncomfortable. These are the things you think are true about you and your life. You would help a friend if they asked. You stop by your parents house to check on them regularly. You drink your coffee when you wake.

The actions you’ll take no matter what else is happening around you.

How was your comfort zone created?

It all started a very long time ago, before you were even aware of it.

Your comfort zone started just as soon as you were able to learn. Certain actions are acceptable in certain situations based on the norms of your community and family life. It’s the way you were taught by parents, family, friends, teachers, and other care givers to act and think.

You learned those actions and are comfortable with them.

Is comfort zone change possible?

Yes and no.

Yes, it’s always possible to make a change to your comfort zone. No, only because it’s the norm for your brain and body to continue down the path it’s on now. Change requires energy your brain is opposed to spending if not an emergency.

If change is what you really want, you’re sick of actions you take now, you’re on the right track to make change.

Steps to expand your comfort zone

Prep yourself by doing the new action you want at least one time.

More is better, but at a minimum you have to take action at least once. It won’t feel comfortable, it shouldn’t, because you’ve never done it before. The uncomfortable feeling is your brain and body learning how to do the new action or think a different way.

Once you’ve completed the new action, think about it over and over.

Visualization accelerates learning only after you’ve actually done the “new thing” so your brain knows physically how to respond. Focus on the correct actions and think how amazing it was you completed it. Review each and every positive step you made as many times as you can until you do it again.

A year passed with the mindset you have now. Is the way you think now different from how you thought about your life at the beginning of 2023?

Are you more motivated? Less motivated?