Think of a time in your life were you experienced true growth. Ponder your most vivid memories. Chances are that these were times when you were either forced or made the choice to get out of your box, to breach your comfort zone.
Everyone has beaten the term “out of the box” to a bloody pulp from artists to productivity gurus. Sadly, for most of those I respect and consult often I can see their brain turn off when they hear me say it. However, despite it’s cliché and disappointing triteness, the abstract concept associated with it is priceless and of extreme importance.
In order to understand and apply the concept two things must be addressed:
The Two Steps
1. Where are the walls of your box?
2. What can you do to get out of it?
How big is your box?
The invisible, but nonetheless very real limitations we put on ourselves are varying and individual. I could write a tremendous amount on how to determine where your comfort zone is, but for the sake of brevity and actually accomplishing something I will try to distill it into a simple act.
Take a moment and think about all of those things you’ve always wanted or meant to do, but haven’t. Identify a few of the reasons you have not done these. It shouldn’t take much time to find some patterns. Perhaps it’s fear of rejection, perhaps it’s laziness (my vice of choice), but whatever it is, this is essentially your self-imposed line in the sand, this is your box.
What is your box?
Obviously there are purposeful and important demarcations for things you simply wont do. I have a line drawn at murdering someone. I wouldn’t suggest crossing it. Therefore, the next step is to divide the good lines from the bad ones. Only you can decide this. The best advice I can give you here is to use your conscience.
Now that you know where the walls to your box are and which ones should be breached it’s time to do something about it.
The Box Cutter
Getting out of the box should be seen not as a snap judgment to do something out of the ordinary. This leads to things like extreme itching, rashes, and horrible headaches (not to mention regret). Instead tackle this like you would any other goal. Plan out the ways you will get over your fear. If possible, break it down into daily activity. There’s no substitute for the daily accomplishing of a task in order to complete a given objective.
I’ve said it before and will most likely say it again: make yourself accountable. Let trusted friends and, if needed, even the denizens of the Interweb know what your plans are and that they can hold you to your word. This will improve your ability to accomplish your goals.
GO DO IT.
An Example
A few years ago I realized I had put myself into a box of taking too much comfort in routine. I saw that this stifled my creative ability and generally made me boring. My weeks passed with nothing to show for all that time. Determining that the cause of this was laziness, I resolved to spend one week extending and overextending myself. It was my first week in the notorious B.H.A.G. experiment, and I saw it as an opportunity to get back to really living life.
What I did was take the whole week and cram every hour with doing something. I planned things that would purposely add to the emotional intensity of my life; staying out late with friends, going to the beach, attending several concerts, sharing my favorite movies with friends, exercising, doing my best at work, reading and studying, taking more photographs, writing, and more.
Crazy Week
The result was that I had one of the best weeks of my life. I was able to write at least ten songs at that time and built strong relationships with others that have paid off again and again. I also experienced extreme discomfort in the form of things like sunburn, an empty stomach, and rejection from the opposite sex.
All in all I learned more in that week than I had for most of the previous year. The point of all this is that we should all be having these experiences more often. Each of us is going to die. Let’s do some stuff before then, okay?
Let me know what you plan on doing to get out of your box.
What are you major hurdles?
Have you experienced this in your life?
Give me some feedback.
