Pushing past your comfort zone

         One of the principles that I've been thinking about a lot lately is the "law of adaptation" as it relates to my comfort zone. What it basically means is that as I push myself further than I ever have before, I will either physically or psychologically adapt to the new limit. The new limit then becomes part of my comfort zone, since I'll feel at ease and without stress having done it before.

         Why is this principle important? There are great psychological benefits to be reaped from going further than you thought possible. For the rest of your life, you will know that being stretched that far is within your range and capacity.

         One of my favorite tv shows is the Biggest Loser. It's inspiring to watch people who don't know what they're capable of push past their psychological and perceived physical limitations to make changes in their lives. They don't just get out of their comfort zones, they basically wrestle it to the ground and make it yell uncle. Even the ones that don't win learn an important principle that we don't have to accept ourselves as-is if we are willing to pay the price of change.

        Our "normal" is often dictated by how challenging of circumstances we have had in the past. If you've lived in a tent before, you probably don't mind living in a 700 square foot apartment. On the other hand, if you've lived in a mansion your whole life you may be miserable in an apartment. As we throw ourselves into new circumstances that stretch our limits, our comfort zones become larger and larger. Our "normal" will then encompass so much that we'll feel at ease even if we are in circumstances that most people would feel stressed out in.

        Many of my friends and some of my family members have several children. In fact, my oldest sister has five! Even though I have 7 siblings, I imagine that my comfort zone around children is much different than hers. That's her normal. She has been pushed far greater than I have in this arena and her psychological state reflects being at ease even with the chaos created by children around her. Hopefully, she doesn't view the challenge of having kids the same as Jim Gaffigan in this video:

          One of the benefits of going to college for 9 years was that it exposed me to quite a bit of subject matter that I never would have studied otherwise. It was always surprising to me what subjects interested me and what subjects were deemed way too dry to stimulate my mind. I never would have thought that U.S. tax law would be an interesting subject!

        Most of my friends know that real estate is my biggest area of interest. However, I hadn't owned any real estate up until 2011 when I bought my first house. Even today with all my real estate related education, I still haven't filed taxes on an investment property or have tried being a landlord. To accomplish my goals, I need to experience those things and maybe even make some mistakes along the way.  As I do that for a year or two, I'll learn if my theoretical direction merits heavier investment or scaling back and liquidating.

         To this end, if you want to succeed in the business realm you have to dip your feet into the water to gain experience before jumping into the deep end. By jumping in head first without knowing the details cold, you might set yourself back financially with higher risk business ventures. For me, having this build up and expansion of my comfort zone makes my risks much more calculated than the alternative of taking blind risks that may lead to disastrous consequences. 

       The law of adaptation has really been a helpful principle to understand on my journey. It has helped me improve on many of my weaknesses and to move forward with goals that weren't necessarily supposed to be up my alley. Adaptation means that an element of self-creation can open up a whole realm of possibilities that I never thought possible.