anthonylatona.net | personal development blog

Everyone has a standard set of actions and habits that they are comfortable with. By nature, all people are very habitual and often follow the same patterns each day/week/month/year and so on BUT they also wonder why they can’t get what they can’t achieve more and feel more successful. One of the first steps that I learned about how to create lasting change and move closer toward your goals is to get out of your comfort zone. This basically means to do things that you know will get you closer to your goal, but make you feel uncomfortable.

Why does this work?

Getting out of your comfort zone works for a few ways. First, you have reasoned that there is something you can do to get you closer to achieving a goal but it’s not something you are comfortable with – which is precisely the point. If you continue to do things that you are comfortable with, are you really changing? Well, the answer is NO! You’re not!

For instance, if you really want to start a relationship but you are afraid to introduce yourself to someone new. There is a disconnect between the goal and the action because it’s easier and more comfortable to rationalize why to take the habitual path.

The way to truly expand your comfort zone is to deal with and understand the fear. The fear is usually irrational. Weigh the possible outcomes. For instance, what is the absolute worst thing that could happen if you went up to someone and introduced yourself? The worst outcome is that you’ll get rejected right? There won’t be any physical pain, or lasing embarrassment; it’s not like one minor failure will cause any catastrophes. Another example relates to weight loss. Many people feel like they want to get into shape but are uncomfortable joining a gym or are afraid of failure in some way. In business or in your career, habits form all over the place and many times people will act a certain way because it’s easier. Maybe at a networking event, it’s easier to wait for people to talk to you but how much more effective would it be if you were on the offensive? Maybe it’s time to step up and ask for a raise or make a suggestion about how to improve a process in your department.

The key is to expand your comfort zone.

There is a long lasting result to all of this too – once you expand your comfort zone you will build long term confidence and your newly expanded comfort zone will be the new habit! You won’t find it hard to meet 5 new business contacts or talk to someone at the bar if you do it 30+ times. Your brain will realize that the consequences are minimal and you will actively step outside your comfort zone constantly, creating lasting and fulfilling change in your life and get closer to your goals! Remember, the only way to change is to actually change!

I used to be terrible when it came to making excuses. I’m still working on it too. It’s almost like suffering from a disease that keeps getting worse. Once you let yourself excuse something, you start to train your brain to allow it to excuse other things and then you’re an infected; you’re an addict. Step one is to admit it.

It can be about anything.

“I can’t make more money because I’m not qualified…”
“I can’t lose weight because I don’t have time to exercise.”
“I shouldn’t talk to that person because they won’t like me.” etc…

The basic structure is:

“I can’t do {something I want} because {something I believe is limiting me}.”

These are often called limiting beliefs and they are controllable and you can change the way you think. A recent excuse (which is simple, but a good example) I caught myself constantly using was to choose white bread over whole grain. My excuse was that it’s slightly cheaper, and only a few more calories per slice. But that’s not in line with my goals is it? Every calorie counts, and honestly if $0.25 – $0.50 is a real decision maker, I have bigger problems. It’s just an excuse. I’m convincing myself that one option is better than another even though I KNOW that the opposite is true.

Usually these types of excuses cause people to never achieve what they truly want to and it’s time to STOP MAKING EXCUSES. It’s important to overcome these limiting beliefs weather they are “what’s the difference” type excuses or caused by fear or discomfort.

The only way to change, is to actually change.

The first time this truly sunk in, I knew I was really onto something and once you can change the default patterns that your brain jumps to while in certain situations, you will feel it too. Try to catch yourself making an excuse to do something that is totally outside your goal list. Let’s say you’re overall goal is to lose weight before the summer… Your excuse might be the next time you’re at the Bar with your friends and you make an excuse to have another drink.. in your mind it’s, “Well… what’s one more, I already had 3…” but the difference is 100 – 200+ calories! This excuse is not in line with your long term goal and is only satisfying you in the short term.

Try to catch yourself while you are misaligned with your goals and you’ll see nearly instant improvement! Take action!

Hi, My name is Anthony Latona. For over 4 years now I have been actively learning and studying various areas of personal development and self improvement. The human mind is truly fascinating and probably one of the most misunderstood systems on the planet. There are millions of people that float through life and never reflect on what they really want. One of my goals is to inspire you to have an open mind about what you are capable of and follow some of the self improvement tips that I’m going to write about. Having an open mind is crucial to positive growth so as you dive into personal development or (dare I say it…) self help topics, it may seem strange but once you get over the vocabulary of the topic and play along, you’ll find that these systems and functions which allow you to change the way you think or the way your mind works are extremely powerful and can help you in ways you never thought possible.

My interests (and the main focus of this blog) include how to overcome the limitations of your own mind and get what you want out of your life. I’ve studied some of the great personal development masters of all time including Tony Robbins, Eben Pagan, Tim Ferriss and many more. When you look at their levels of success in business or wellness, it’s obvious that these guys are masters of this science. Self Improvement usually starts with a significant amount of mind over matter techniques but there are specific focuses and areas of improvement such as fitness/wellness, productivity, wealth, relationship building and many more.

One of the most important personal development and success attracting topics of all time is the process of “modeling” the patterns practiced by others who posses the success that you want to achieve. For instance, if you wanted to be a great golfer, you would probably practice golf the same way that Tiger Woods does; so if you want to be healthy and happy or successful in business, model after the people that already have achieved it! With that said, and if you are really interested in personal development, go find a ton of blogs and read as much as possible. My point of views and specific topics and courses will help but there is so much to learn from others as well. I’ll write about a few of my favorites in an upcoming post.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog. I hope that you enjoy and remember, you can’t change anything without action. So if you have a dream, make it happen.