Unknown Territories 🌀
I started Slow Sessions in June, and it has been such a joy to communicate with those who have participated. How does it work? I mail a set of questions to each person and they choose to reflect on one prompt, and mail it back to me. Their answers are then shared anonymously. In June, we discussed comfort zones and how we respond to being stretched.
When I am outside of my comfort zone, the fearful part of me tries to be “perfect.” When I am open to being outside of my comfort zone, I can access the parts of me that are curious and unashamed of being a student. I believe when we are in an unfamiliar situation, we don’t want other people to be aware of our lack of experience. We want to hide our discomfort, which unfortunately disguises our authenticity. Pretending to be an expert provides a temporary feeling of empowerment, but defeats the purpose of being outside of our comfort zone. Growth comes with heavy emotions, and the courage to learn how to move through them. When we step out of our comfort, or we are suddenly pushed into the unknown, it's understandable to try and regain control. But rather than trying to dominate the outcome, or how people perceive me, I get clear on what I can do. I try to remember the skills I have obtained to move through distress, and trust that growth does not occur in places I have outgrown.
Days and weeks can go by where we haven’t tried something that truly pushes us past our edge. What if you could venture into unknown territory slightly delighted that you are intentionally pausing the familiarity of being on autopilot?
Below is someone’s response from June’s Slow Sessions. If you’d like to take part in the exercise, please send me a DM on Instagram and I will add you to the list.
Prompt: How do you know when you are outside of your comfort zone?
“I know when I am outside of my comfort zone when I get nervous, start to overthink, and calculate my every move. In comfortable situations, I feel at the top of my own self confidence. I’m locked in and I don’t think twice about how and where I move. A lot of times, being out of my comfort zone reveals a lot of my blind spots in terms of shadow and inner child. In this energy, I might stay quieter and smaller, fail to speak up, and seek out approval from others. As I move along in my life journey, I realize that there are many ways that I can self soothe when I’m outside of my comfort zone. I breathe, reassure myself that I am safe, connect with my community, and most importantly, hype myself up about the growth I will feel once I move through this time outside of my comfort zone. I get excited at knowing there are so many ways I still have to grow and expand, even if I don’t know exactly what that growth is.”
Interested in a 1:1 session? I am taking clients through email requests only. Email salwa@fundamentalhunger.com if you’re ready to connect.