Is there anything holding you back from living life the way you want to? For me it's always been a lack of self confidence.
As a kid I was cripplingly shy. At family gatherings I would cling, koala-like, to my mum, too scared to speak to my cousins, uncles and aunts.
This lack of confidence followed me through life and has often been an impediment to doing the things I want to do.
So it might have seemed a strange choice for me to become a yoga teacher - to regularly put myself in the somewhat vulnerable position of standing up in front of other people and teaching.
But the thing is, I loved yoga, and I was determined that my lack of confidence wouldn't stop me from reaching my goal of being a teacher...it had already blocked me in too many other ways in the past.
And although it was extremely challenging at times, I accomplished my goal.
I couldn't have done this without the foundations of my yoga and mindfulness practice - and the support of good teachers. The ways in which I've gently probed the boundaries of my comfort zone and challenged myself (just as we 'explore the edge' in our yoga postures) have helped me to cultivate the self confidence and belief that were so lacking in my younger years (of course there are still wobbles).
If we never step out of our comfort zone then there's no opportunity for growth or learning...and over time that comfort zone actually starts to shrink. Our world gets smaller.
So right now I'm continuing to challenge myself - I'm planning to develop online content but I hate being in front of a camera. Solution? I'm recording a series of 60 second talking videos - you can see them here (cringe).
It's been challenging...really challenging...I don't enjoy watching myself on camera at all. But I have to say it's also been a lot of fun and very liberating...and I believe it's going to help me take my teaching forward in the way I want.
So my question to you is this - is there any way in which you're safely able to explore, challenge and expand the boundaries of your comfort zone? Are you prepared to do what's uncomfortable in order to nurture growth?