Build Honesty by making a commitment, thinking before you speak, and considering the consequences.
First, what's a ZONE?
def. an area or stretch of land having a particular characteristic, purpose, or use, or subject to particular restrictions.
This loosely means a SPACE that has a purpose for being there, right?
What is comfort?
def. a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint
So if I summarized, I would call the comfort zone a space with the purpose to free you from pain or constraint.
Why would you want to GET OUT of that zone when it protects you from pain or constraint? Its created to keep you safe, however, some of us have spaces that are much smaller than others, therefore, some of us are unable to receive more because its too much for us to bear.
This is why you want to EXPAND YOUR ZONE OF COMFORT. Make more room to receive MORE!
Expanding your comfort zone is a full-on process. You have to start at the ROOT of the issues you may have with what does and does not make you feel comfortable in situations or areas in your life.
This begins with brutal HONESTY!
You know what I love? People who are not afraid to be honest and straightforward. Not just with me but with themselves. Honesty is a virtue that many people can not display to their own selves.
Pay attention to that. Normally a person who lies to themself will damn sure lie to you about you! That's why an honest accountability partner is KEY!
Let me be the first to tell you that I lived that double life. You can read more about it here.
I was in denial about my own blatant issues and I had to resolve them FAST! That began with unscrupulous honesty with myself about myself. It took for me (ego) to be completely destroyed, some call it the dark night of the soul, for me to actually be able to have more honesty with myself.
If you are currently experiencing the worst of the worst, you are in the perfect position to begin being more honest with yourself.
It wasn't necessary to completely self destruct and I won't let that happen to you. That's why we are going to take today out of this 10-day series to build honesty!
Today you will make a commitment. Not only to yourself but to your future self. You in the future is responsible for much more than what you are responsible for today.
To build honesty, you have to really assess your core values. How committed are you to YOU?
Are you committed to the process of being successful in trading? Are you committed to changing your money thresholds? Are you committed to becoming more emotionally intelligent? Are you committed to unlearning all the BS you have learned about earning money?
We commit ourselves to BS all the time.
BS friends, relationships, jobs, distractions, etc but when it comes to something of real importance, like evaluating ourselves, we fade into the abyss or don't take it as seriously as we should.
One of the Four Agreements is to be IMPECCABLE with your WORD and most of the time we are creating our own downfall simply based on the words we speak. Internally and externally...
Which brings me to the next point: THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.
You ever hear someone say some of the MOST DEFEATIST ish? Like, wow.... you really didn't think about that, did you? Words are spells!
Earl Nightingale stated in The Strangest Secret, that a doctor was being interviewed and was asked "What's wrong with men today?" and he responded, "Men simply don't think".
...women too! Be intentional with your thoughts but most importantly BE HONEST!
What are your thoughts filled with? Because the things you SAY will be a reflection of the things you think. And what you think and say are strong indicators of what you will receive in life.
Are the things you think about yourself true? Are they kind? Are they inspiring? Or do you downplay yourself and dim your light all the time? Do you give yourself a hard time over mistakes? Are you hard on yourself when someone had decided they don't like you for stupid reasons? (let's not confuse disagreement with dislike).
One thing I now know about myself is I couldn't care less about what conclusions a person has drawn about me. Why?
Because:
1. What and who is for you ain't gon miss you,
2. Most people aren't even brave enough to express themselves to you directly,
and 3. Seven times out of 10, they hate you cuz they ain't you! And the other 3 reasons are age, race, or gossip.
[I done triggered myself, let me breathe real quick]
Whew...
But with all that said, we come to the last point: consider the consequences.
What are the NEGATIVE consequences of NOT being honest with yourself? What are the POSITIVE consequences?
You cant change what you do not make yourself aware of.
Chris Cole makes it a point to make sure we document our journey in our own handwriting in our trading journal. Why? Because when you are physically apart of the process of your growth, you become more connected.
It's like the difference between gardening and having a gardener. You do not have the SAME connection to your own crops if you allow someone to do all the work for you.
Here are a couple of printable forms I created that WILL help you along this journey. This something you will want to do at least TWICE. Once when you start this journey and once when you feel far along the way.
I looked back on my assessments and I was FLOORED at some of my responses. I have definitely changed and its beautiful to see.
The next 10 days are going to be very interesting for a lot of us lol
