“Move out of your comfort zone.  You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”  Brian Tracy

Do you think of yourself as too thin, thin, just right, heavy, too heavy?  What impact does that self-picture have on your ability to change?

After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up and flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to try to kill the child.”  (Matt. 2:13; NLT)

Week before last, I said that I was going to do an extended series of DGs on the human brain. If you missed that introduction, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and go back and read that introductory material. (Access that DG by clicking here)

“Psycho-Cybernetics” is a word most people attribute to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon who coined the word as the title of his book almost 50 years ago.  It’s a compound word made up “psycho” which pertains to the mind or brain, and cybernetics which pertains to how a system works and specifically relates to the control-response feedback/correction aspect of that system.  Everyday examples include the thermostat on your wall, the autopilot control in an airplane or boat, etc.

The piece of all this that most find to be a new understanding is that our Manufacturer also equipped each and every one of us with a cybernetic feedback and correction system.  Yes, we too have a built in thermostat that controls a number of things in our daily lives.  Most, if not all, of that control/response function is handled by our non-conscious mind. 

Some of you who have been reading DGs for some time will remember the one I wrote on your happiness set-point (2/11/08 DG).  In that case, our “thermostat” is set for a certain level of happiness and will take whatever action is necessary to bring us back to that level whenever we allow circumstances to make us happier or less happy. 

Most will already be familiar with the psycho-cybernetic system we refer to as our comfort zone.  We all have a range of activity within which we feel very comfortable.  When circumstances or opportunities cause us to move out of that comfort zone, we will often go to great lengths to adjust our behavior to return to that zone of familiarity.  For example, tests have shown that people have a comfort zone associated with their income level.  If situations change such that they suddenly begin earning significantly more that their comfort zone allows, they will (often unconsciously) scale their activity back to a level which will return that income to a more familiar level.  Diets?  Same thing.  We each have a set point regarding our weight.  If we don’t take steps to change that set point, dieting is always going to result in that all too familiar yo-yo phenomenon.

In all of these cases, and countless others, willpower and persistence will not work to break free from a psycho-cybernetic range on a long-term basis.  Change must occur on the inside first.  As John Assaraf has written, “You have to take the old brain, the old thermostat, and rewire it.  You have to reset your thermostat before you can start seeing and behaving differently.”

Prayer Power
Lord, help us to internalize the fact that real growth occurs when we step out of the comfortable.  Give us the grace to live lives “on the edge.”

Link of the Day
How to Break Out of Your Comfort Zone

Blessings on you as you choose a comfort zone that is limiting your forward progress and take steps to break free.

Previous in Series-/ /-Next in Series