Pocketful of Mojo
Pocketful of Mojo
What Magic Awaits When You Put On Real Pants?
Ever wonder why the most exhilarating moments of your life happened outside your comfort zone? That's no coincidence.
Your comfort zone is like that friend who only wants to hang out in sweatpants watching reruns – cozy, yes, but hardly where life's magic unfolds. We're diving deep into the neuroscience behind why our brains crave predictability (hello, amygdala) and how that evolutionary advantage can become a modern-day limitation when we let it shrink our world without even realizing it.
But this isn't about trashing comfort zones entirely. These safe spaces serve crucial purposes – they're where we heal after losses, recover from burnout, and stabilize our mental health. The key is recognizing when your comfort zone has transformed from a necessary rest stop into a permanent residence that's keeping you from growing.
What are the signs you're overdue for a stretch? That restlessness you feel when everything's "fine" but nothing's great. The jealousy when watching others do what you secretly wish to do. That electric combination of fear and excitement when considering something new. These are all invitations to expand your boundaries and discover what you're truly capable of.
The real currency of growth is discomfort – those moments where your heart races a little but something deeper whispers "what if this actually works?" Every time you lean into that productive discomfort, you're literally rewiring your brain for greater resilience, creativity, and confidence. Your challenge this week? Choose one small thing that nudges you beyond your bubble and take action within 72 hours. The version of you that's waiting on the other side is stronger, louder, bolder – and already cheering you on.
Ready to put on your big girl pants and see what magic awaits? Subscribe to Pocketful of Mojo and join me next week when we tackle how to keep the promises you make to yourself!
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you ever notice how your comfort zone is? Like that friend who's always down to hang, but only at your place and only in sweatpants, with the same takeout, watching the same show for probably the third time this week. Cozy, yeah, exciting? Not even a little bit. And yet if you look where life's magic happens, it's usually after we've left the couch, put on real pants and tried something. That made us well nervous. And today we're talking about your comfort zone. Is it your loyal BFF or an overprotective bodyguard? Or maybe it's the sneaky roommate who's eating all your yogurt and low-key holding you back? Well, on today's episode, we're going to unpack all this and take a peek at all the magic that's just outside your comfort zone, and we're going to interrogate whether or not it's worth a trip. So let's put on our big girl pants, start from where we are and get tuned in, tapped in and turned on.
Speaker 1:Welcome to Pocketful of Mojo. You spicy little cupcake, I'm so glad you're here. I'm Steph, your Mojo Maven, and I'm totally obsessed with helping recovering people pleasers find their mojo and remember how amazing they were born to be, and get practical about it, because I'm from Canada, eh. So let's get into it. We're here, we're comfy, get used to it, right. Well, it's your call, my friend. But if you came here looking for a mojo, I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm not gonna tell you. It's gonna ring the doorbell and come find you on the couch and join you in your jammies or athleisure wear and pass the popcorn. That's very off-brand for mojo, but I mean sure, a good life sure does have some jammy time and rest and recharge, like these are all important ingredients in preserving your balance. But that's not what we're here to promote today. We're here to empower you with what you need to know and what you need to remember once you discover what you want and what you're made of. And there's a truth and it holds the key to all of that, and it's this. Growth doesn't show up uninvited. You've got to go out and claim it.
Speaker 1:Comfort zones are important and everyone needs a quiet, comfortable, safe place to land Because, like, a good, healthy life is not all about rocket ships and grind and hustle Like ebb and flow people. Balance is key, remember. But all those components work best when it's a zone, not a whole territory. Comfort zones are a place to visit, like a rest stop. They're a place to catch your breath and recharge and heal and refocus and reset. But it's a base camp, not a head office. So your comfort zone is not your home, it's a waiting room. You can't forget that you have to leave at some point.
Speaker 1:So today we're going to look deep into the looking glass and ask the question what magic is waiting for me on the other side of my comfort zone? So we'll start by asking the question what is a comfort zone and how much does it cost? Because you see, your comfort zone is basically your brain's favorite security blanket. It's the set of routines, habits, locations, situations that feel familiar and predictable and safe. And from a neuroscience perspective, here comes the nerdy but fun part. Your comfort zone is tied to your brain's primary job, which is to keep you alive, avoid all the stupid risk and conserve your energy. So our friend, the amygdala, the little almond-shaped fear center that lives in your brain, it's scanning for threats 24-7, and it loves a little moment of rest, so it loves predictability. So it directs you to your comfort zone because comfort zone is low stress, comfort zone is less cortisol. And let's not get it twisted that comfort zone it's not the enemy, it's a survival mechanism. It's why we're all still here, but survival mode and thriving mode are not the same thing. That's an important hair to split. So let's take a beat and have a look at what it looks like when the comfort zone does serve us, because remember, I'm not here to talk shit about comfort zones we need it sometimes, like resting after a big push, or you're recovering from a loss or a burnout.
Speaker 1:Or maybe it's just time that you take a beat, stabilize your mental health, because there's been some chaos. Like I'm certainly trying to recover after a big push. I just finished organizing a huge reunion in our nation's capital and people came from all over the country. I've been working on it since October 2023, which is a lot of meanings and a lot of time. So I'm taking a couple of days to line up the dominoes for the next chapter, the next season, what life will look like after the reunion. But then I'm just going to be a potato for a bit. I'm not going to take on anything new. I'm not going to go out seeking some challenges for like three days. Or maybe you're recovering from a loss or burnout.
Speaker 1:So there was that one summer where my mom died and my marriage ended. Yeah, I literally went back to square one. I moved right back to the house I grew up in. I needed that safe space. I needed to remove any and all other threats so that all of my energy, which can only be spent in one place at a time, all of my energy needed to go to healing. I needed to stop the bleeding, so to speak. And I mean, if we're not paying attention, we can navigate chaos and get so good at managing it and so good at being tough that we forget to stabilize our mental health. We just kind of put a shell over it. Like I mentioned, I just returned from a reunion and what the association is is we're second and third generation members of an association and I can tell you that from the people that were there, they were sharing their experience as children of war veterans and the whole keep calm and carry on mantra of the world wars. Oh, that continued long after the war was over and so many veterans not only never processed their trauma, but they went the fake it till you make it route. And while I can't speak from personal experience with this, because my grandfather died in the battle, I heard so many stories of intergenerational trauma that was born from not taking the time to talk about it without taking the time to heal.
Speaker 1:Your comfort zone is like the base camp on a mountain climb you need a safe space to catch your breath before you make the next move. And whether you listen to your body when it's a whisper or you wait until it's a scream, your body is going to tell you if you aren't mindfully able to plan this comfort zone time yourself yet, so if you can't get ahead of it, just tuning in and being aware that's all you need. But the problem is that most of us build a cute little cabin at base camp and then we decided that we live here now, we get cozy, we stop climbing because we're tired and we stop learning, we stop asking questions, we stop expanding, we stop stretching, asking questions, we stop expanding, we stop stretching and then eventually we wonder why we feel restless or bored or off or uninspired. And if we really listen, there's a little voice in there saying I want more. And that's the moment where this comfort zone, this thing that served us so well, which helped us heal, which created a space for us to reflect and evolve gradually, then suddenly leaves us feeling unsatisfied. Now to avoid the traps and the quicksand that come with staying too long in our comfort zone. Let's be sure to watch out for what it looks like when our comfort zone holds us back, because we're all guilty from time to time of getting in our own way, and this is the one that comes up the most often.
Speaker 1:And the comfort zone becomes a problem when it starts shrinking our life without us even realizing it, because it's subtle. Maybe you stop speaking up in meetings because it's just easier to stay quiet, or you avoid dating because rejection sucks and it's uncomfortable and it makes you have to work really hard on your self-esteem Speaking for a friend, or you keep doing the same workout, eating the same meals, seeing the same people. It's Thursday, it's a night for broccoli and rice, until the idea of any change feels terrifying and exhausting. Life outside of this groundhog day that you've built seems unimaginable, scary and eventually it's going to feel really isolating. And the sneaky thing is our brain rewards us for this avoidance. Oh, you didn't try that new thing? Great, no risk, no stress. Here's a little dopamine hit for playing it safe.
Speaker 1:But you can only trade growth for comfort for so long before something inside you just is going to start whispering. This isn't it? There's more for me, but we're here to get practical. So what do you do? What do you do when you realize that there is more out there and that maybe you do want it? So what do you do? You want to do one of those counterintuitive things, which makes it a little bit tricky.
Speaker 1:But I'm telling you what it is here. It is Discomfort is the currency of growth. That's the thing you got to do. You got to chase being uncomfortable and you're like, great, that sounds awesome. Do I get to put rocks in my shoes too? Well, let's look at what this actually means. It means that if you want to grow, you have to open up your emotional wallet and pay for that growth, that change, that glow up with the currency of discomfort Disco dollars. Discomfort dollars. There we go. The exchange rate is the same, no matter what country you live in. No tariff rates apply and the return on investment is priceless.
Speaker 1:Because think about it every leap you've taken, every kiss, every first job, the first time you traveled somewhere new, the last time you tried doing something for the first time, it was scary and exhilarating. And that's the sweet spot where fear and excitement meet, because that amygdala is there to keep you safe. Remember, this isn't a recipe for shenanigans Because, again, your brain is so smart when you stretch just outside your comfort zone and like, not too far, this isn't trauma flavored bungee jumping. What happens is your brain starts creating these new neural pathways, like these idea highways, and you're literally rewiring yourself for resilience, creativity, confidence. Yeah, I know right, you're like confidence Really, and I'm like, yeah, confidence Really, and I'm like, yeah, bonus, and the best part, each time you stretch yourself, take a swing, try something new, your comfort zone expands. What used to be terrifying becomes normal. You're leveling up in your sleep. You're not even realizing it. So, like we said, there's a time and a place for a comfort zone. But these might be some of the clues that it's time to stretch.
Speaker 1:The first one is restlessness. You're a little bored, you're irritable or blah, or like you're just everything's fine. You know there's nothing really great, there's nothing really bad, you know. You just come chucking along and this is the alarm going off, letting you know that you've outgrown the box. Now your higher self is asking you to prove what you're capable of, which is kind of infinite, but we'll save that for a different podcast, because you seem to have forgotten, my dear friend, how amazing and capable you are of going after what you want and showing up for your needs. Think about the last time that you wanted something and you went and got it. Just think about what was that thing for you. How did that feel, what was that process like? You probably didn't start as a 10 out of 10, but holy fuck, how good did it feel at the end of it. But all that magic happened outside of your comfort zone.
Speaker 1:The next symptom is jealousy. Seeing someone else do the thing that you want to do kind of stings a little. Jealousy doesn't have to be exclusively a bad thing. Hear me out when you're tuned in and you observe that this little feeling bubbles up, use it like a signal. It's a light that's shining down on something that your higher self is wanting for you, and now it's up to you to make it happen.
Speaker 1:The next key indicator is something that we talked about a little bit earlier, which is excited fear, not like I'm being chased by a bear fear, but like rollercoaster fear, first date fear. It's the opportunity that scares you a little, but in a what if this actually works kind of way, like if you ever notice that excitement and nervousness present with the exact same symptoms. The only difference is what's going on between your ears. Seriously, mindset is the only difference between nervousness and excitement. It's all how you process it. It's whatever filter you see it through. And then there's the groundhog day. Do you even need a daytime calendar anymore, because every Tuesday looks like the 58 Tuesdays before it? Maybe you keep living the same week on repeat, and there's a fine line between routines and an old-fashioned rut. And you can put this under the microscope a little more if you want and add Pocketful Emojo, season 1, episode 32. The episode's titled Routines, friends or Foe, and what we do there is we unpack the difference between a routine that keeps you on track and one that keeps you stuck, so that one's definitely worth a listen. So yeah, we got repeating loops excited, fear, jealousy and restlessness. So take yourself out for ice cream. Have a little think and do any of those apply to you and what do you want to do about it? Because if any of those sound familiar, it means that your comfort zone is overdue for a stretch. But, like I said, it's all between the ears.
Speaker 1:I'll never forget the time I got invited to speak at an event, but it was in a city I'd never been to before and at first it was like every part of me wanted to say like no, I'm busy, which meant really like I'm scared Because I didn't know anybody there and I was convinced that I'd bomb, and like all my insecurities just came flooding over me. There's that amygdala again, and my brain served up every excuse in the book. My mama didn't raise a fool and she certainly didn't leave me a million dollars. So I went and here's what happened. I nailed my talk because I didn't have any other noise around me to distract me. I could just get really prepared and get in the moment. And then I ended up like being this magnet for people who ended up becoming super great friends. And then someone in the audience liked my vibe, or mojo, if you will, and I got invited to three more events, and none of that would have happened if it stayed on the couch. So that trip became one of those like oh, this is what happens outside my comfort zone kind of moments. So there's nothing I can do that you can't do and you're probably going to do it better. So here's your mojo mission for the week.
Speaker 1:I want you to pick one thing that you've been avoiding like super secret, nobody knows about it. What's that one thing that's like nagging you just a bit because it feels uncomfortable, like maybe it's introducing yourself to someone new, that new person in the office or whatever, or the class that you kind of have been thinking about, or pitching your idea at work Fuck, it could be that jumpsuit that's sitting in your closet that you quote unquote. Don't think that you can pull off. Yeah, fuck that. Pick the thing. Pick one of those slightly uncomfortable things.
Speaker 1:Again, kind of makes me think about the veterans. Like, can I stand a little bit of discomfort? Yeah, yeah, I can. I can, we are capable of a bit of discomfort. It feels weird choosing it, but when you're tuned in and you're mindfully doing it for a positive outcome, that aligns with something that you want. It's just that you've never done it before. That's where the electricity happens.
Speaker 1:So I want you to pick something that's small enough to feel doable but big enough to get your heart rate going a little bit. That's another physiological sign to know that you're not in your head about it. You're getting a physical sensation about it and I want you to do it in the next 72 hours, hours and then afterwards. I want you to write down the before, the during and the after. How did you feel? And then, if you think of, like, fear and confidence as physical things taking up physical space in your body, as you write these things down, you're going to feel that fear shrink and the confidence expand in real time, as you're reinforcing and reaffirming what you're capable of.
Speaker 1:What amazing things are existing outside of your comfort zone and again, comfort zone, not the enemy. It was built to protect you and we love that. But the key to remember is that it's not there to limit you. Every time you step beyond it, you're not breaking yourself, you're building yourself. You're saying to yourself let's give this a shot, let's do this, I can do this. And the version of you that's waiting on the other side she's stronger, she's louder, bolder and already there cheering you on.
Speaker 1:All right, mojarinos, here's the truth. Your comfort zone isn't your enemy, it's your starting line, it's where you rest, where you reset, but it's not where you're going to rise. The real growth, the real joy, the real you that all shows up the moment you stretch past what feels safe. So this week, I want you to choose one tiny thing that nudges you out of your bubble. It doesn't have to be massive, just a step, a stretch, a spark, because every small move, those add up and, before you know it, you're living a life that feels bigger and bolder and more you.
Speaker 1:If today lit something up for you, please share this episode with someone who needs that little push too. And don't forget you've got all the mojo you need to handle whatever waits for you outside of your comfort zone and just like that, you've got a pocket full of mojo. Take it wherever you go and let people know you've listened with a smile. And make sure you tune in next week, where we're going to be talking all about the promises that you make to yourself and how to keep them. So until then, go stretch, go shine and go live a little louder. Let me hear you. That's it for me. Thanks so much again for tuning in. I love you. Ciao for now.
