Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Staycations are great, but sometimes it takes a holiday outside the confines of our comfort zones to stretch ourselves and grow. 

I’m just back from a much-needed vacation and change of scene and routine. Disconnecting from my screens, Zoom meetings, daily stressors and the mundane of day-to-day reminded me of just how critical it is to change things up. We often talk about challenging our bodies by disrupting our nutrition and exercise habits, but our minds and creative spirits also need a good curve ball every so often. 

My husband and I love to hike and take long walks. On our recent trip we logged some wonderful New England seaside and urban miles in Newport, Rhode Island, Boston and Milford, Connecticut—as well as a good bit of trekking to find scenic vistas and gushing waterfalls in the mountains around Asheville, North Carolina. We talked a lot while we walked, but there was also a lot of quiet, introspective time as we took in the beauty of our surroundings and watched the glory of nature unfold. It calmed my spinning brain and cleared the obstacles for a cleaner, more direct thought path. As a result, I’m back at work feeling creative, supercharged and happy.  

I also had the good fortune to sample a daily dose of group fitness at the Ferguson Family YMCA in Candler, NC. I train every day in San Diego with a talented bunch of coaches who know their stuff, but I pretty much had my business handed to me over the five workouts I did with Steve and Corey, two of the YMCA’s talented group exercise leaders. It made me realize 1. that I need to up my fitness game (“I’ve clearly gotten comfortable,” I thought at one point, as I grabbed my knees and gasped for breath during a P90X class); and 2. that it’s critical to get out of my bubble and experience new and different to keep growing, learning and improving.  

When is the last time you got out of your facility’s bubble and sampled what other pros are doing to keep their customers coming back for more? The question reminds me of a podcast I did with Mark Fisher of Mark Fisher Fitness in New York City when we first started doing the IDEAfit PRO SHOW. Mark shared that he regularly sampled other facilities’ offerings and he invited listeners to come and sample what he and his team were doing. At a time when we’re all looking to innovate, this is a simple, yet brilliant, insight that will kickstart some fresh thinking for you. It might be time to get out of your comfort zone, try something new, adapt what resonates for you and customize it for your clients. In a digital environment, you can sample new and different approaches to fitness all over the world, but also be sure to embrace opportunities to live these experiences in your own back yard when you can. You might be surprised by what you discover!

Speaking of the podcast, now that the team is rested up and brimming with ideas, the IDEAfit PRO SHOW will be back September 1 for Season 4. If you haven’t listened yet, the interview I did with Mark is among the 60+ episodes we have banked. There is a ton of good intel in this audio content, which you can listen to while you work out, drive, walk or garden. I invite you to catch up before we start the next batch. Is there a fitness or science guru you’d like me to interview? Please send me your suggestions. 

What have you done lately to bust out of your comfort zone? What new ideas or changes did it spark for you? Please share your experiences at editor@ideafit.com or reach out to the content team at content@ideafit.com to tell us how we can help you advance your business. We look forward to serving you every day.