italki Language Challenge <-- Click it!
Time is running out! I'm already 2 weeks behind schedule, but I am going to try my best to finish the challenge. If you have any desire to learn a language this year, I recommend you take part. If the challenge doesn't seem like something you are interested in, I seriously encourage you to look into italki as a resource for your learning. Linking up with native speakers and qualified teachers and tutors have never been so easy. That's all for now, go click the link!
Your Comfort Zone & The Limit of Personal Growth
I once thought I was good at adapting, and quite comfortable being out of my comfort zone. Now it's clear that I was wrong. I realize that I am just good at creating a comfort zone in a foreign place, whether it is beyond national borders or just county lines. Never will I claim that I just randomly had this realization. In fact, the Irish polyglot, Benny Lewis, showed me how wrong I was in this video:
Now I am seeking to break that habit. This is the greatest part about realizing that a routine or habit isn't what you thought it was, you find motivation to make a shift. Once you realize that what you were doing or thinking is not what you were convinced it was, you want to get back to that feeling that you had before you came to the realization. Academics call this creating consonance, but I like to call it resolving inner conflict.
Let's say we just started a new job, as most of us can relate to this. In the beginning it comes with a certain level of anxiety. The uncertainty of the unfamiliar produces anxiety that pushes us to try hard, be efficient, timely, and show that we belong. We are free from the norms and routines of the previous job, we experience new operations and processes, new people, and with any luck manage to gain a friend or two. We have expanded our comfort zone by confronting new situations like the hiring process and starting the new job. After a few months, though, that initial enthusiasm is waning and we start to see everything as dull, boring, routine, and possibly with some spite. We might get lazy with our work and less timely because we have accepted the notion that we belong rather than work to prove it. This is likely similar to the way we felt before we left our last job.
Whether that example is something you can relate to or not, you get the picture. You can apply that example to something more relevant to your life, and now your thinking I have a point. Great! You recognize that we are constantly in a cycle of adapting new and exciting things to be part of our norm. This is called hedonistic adaptation, and it's the process by which new and exciting things become normal and dull. You can find out more on the topic in the next article link you find.
Now, let's move on, because I'm not writing this to point out how humans desire to exist with minimal discomfort. More specifically, I'm hoping to grab your attention so that I can point out how beneficial it is to live with discomfort. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean a lot, I certainly don't mean an uncontrollable amount, and I absolutely don't mean negative discomfort. The right amount is truly a positive force, and without it you aren't going to try anything new, experience anything breathtaking, or push yourself to be a better you than the person just lulling about in the comfort zone. If you need a visual, just click here for a Google Images search of "comfort zone" and you'll quickly get the picture. Here's a sample of what to expect:
In this LifeHacker article, Alan Henry explains that a comfort zone is a "behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk." He cites some psychology research by Yerkes and Dodson, who found that "optimal anxiety" is good for us because it forces us to push beyond our comfort zones to maximize performance, creativity, innovation and more. If you have a lingering anxiety in your life and it isn't crushing your ability to thrive, it's probably helping, and that means you are right where you need to be. If you feel like you need a change or have an interest in making a shift, check out Henry's list of how to break out of your comfort zone in the linked article.
Think about it. When you decide to quit your job or work extra hours to pursue a dream, some anxiety is there. When you push your self to ask out the one you've had your eye on, anxious nervousness has you fidgeting. When you leave your home town or long time residence bound for a place where you know no one, you better believe that as excited as you are anxiety is still sitting shotgun.
If you want details about your comfort zone which are more segmented and specific to areas of your life, I recommend checking out this website to get a measure of your three comfort zones: professional, adrenaline and lifestyle. You might surprise yourself with the results. Then the site hooks you up with great info tailored to your results in each category. At least check it out and see your scores, no one if forcing you act on them or read the insight in the links.
My breakdown of comfort zones is two-fold. On one hand they are great because they provide minimal anxiety and stress with maximum happiness. Sounds great! However, that kind of requires you to rest on your laurels. So, on the second hand they prohibit us from trying new things, they tell us not to chase our dream girl, they prevent us from applying for that perfect job, and they stop us from making life changes like moving to a new place. Comfort zones aren't going to bring us new experience, and they are hardly going to enrich our lives. Unless, that is, none of that sounds like anything you want. If that's the case, just hang tight, things will stay the same. For those desiring enrichment, make a change in the areas of your life where you have the most comfort and take a step out of your comfort zone, a step closer to the magic of your passions.
Update: An earlier version of this article was titled, "Step Toward the Magic."
Now I am seeking to break that habit. This is the greatest part about realizing that a routine or habit isn't what you thought it was, you find motivation to make a shift. Once you realize that what you were doing or thinking is not what you were convinced it was, you want to get back to that feeling that you had before you came to the realization. Academics call this creating consonance, but I like to call it resolving inner conflict.
Let's say we just started a new job, as most of us can relate to this. In the beginning it comes with a certain level of anxiety. The uncertainty of the unfamiliar produces anxiety that pushes us to try hard, be efficient, timely, and show that we belong. We are free from the norms and routines of the previous job, we experience new operations and processes, new people, and with any luck manage to gain a friend or two. We have expanded our comfort zone by confronting new situations like the hiring process and starting the new job. After a few months, though, that initial enthusiasm is waning and we start to see everything as dull, boring, routine, and possibly with some spite. We might get lazy with our work and less timely because we have accepted the notion that we belong rather than work to prove it. This is likely similar to the way we felt before we left our last job.
Whether that example is something you can relate to or not, you get the picture. You can apply that example to something more relevant to your life, and now your thinking I have a point. Great! You recognize that we are constantly in a cycle of adapting new and exciting things to be part of our norm. This is called hedonistic adaptation, and it's the process by which new and exciting things become normal and dull. You can find out more on the topic in the next article link you find.
Now, let's move on, because I'm not writing this to point out how humans desire to exist with minimal discomfort. More specifically, I'm hoping to grab your attention so that I can point out how beneficial it is to live with discomfort. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean a lot, I certainly don't mean an uncontrollable amount, and I absolutely don't mean negative discomfort. The right amount is truly a positive force, and without it you aren't going to try anything new, experience anything breathtaking, or push yourself to be a better you than the person just lulling about in the comfort zone. If you need a visual, just click here for a Google Images search of "comfort zone" and you'll quickly get the picture. Here's a sample of what to expect:
In this LifeHacker article, Alan Henry explains that a comfort zone is a "behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk." He cites some psychology research by Yerkes and Dodson, who found that "optimal anxiety" is good for us because it forces us to push beyond our comfort zones to maximize performance, creativity, innovation and more. If you have a lingering anxiety in your life and it isn't crushing your ability to thrive, it's probably helping, and that means you are right where you need to be. If you feel like you need a change or have an interest in making a shift, check out Henry's list of how to break out of your comfort zone in the linked article.
Think about it. When you decide to quit your job or work extra hours to pursue a dream, some anxiety is there. When you push your self to ask out the one you've had your eye on, anxious nervousness has you fidgeting. When you leave your home town or long time residence bound for a place where you know no one, you better believe that as excited as you are anxiety is still sitting shotgun.
If you want details about your comfort zone which are more segmented and specific to areas of your life, I recommend checking out this website to get a measure of your three comfort zones: professional, adrenaline and lifestyle. You might surprise yourself with the results. Then the site hooks you up with great info tailored to your results in each category. At least check it out and see your scores, no one if forcing you act on them or read the insight in the links.
My breakdown of comfort zones is two-fold. On one hand they are great because they provide minimal anxiety and stress with maximum happiness. Sounds great! However, that kind of requires you to rest on your laurels. So, on the second hand they prohibit us from trying new things, they tell us not to chase our dream girl, they prevent us from applying for that perfect job, and they stop us from making life changes like moving to a new place. Comfort zones aren't going to bring us new experience, and they are hardly going to enrich our lives. Unless, that is, none of that sounds like anything you want. If that's the case, just hang tight, things will stay the same. For those desiring enrichment, make a change in the areas of your life where you have the most comfort and take a step out of your comfort zone, a step closer to the magic of your passions.
Update: An earlier version of this article was titled, "Step Toward the Magic."
All Beaches and Freedom: Contrast in a Nutshell
Damn! I'm so jealous! Living in Thailand must be amazing!
It's easy to recognize that this exclamation is coming from the idea that a person has of Thailand. The beach. Whether it is because you saw Leo's movie at some point, maybe some other televised expose, or had a friend take a trip here, you can't tell me that when I say Thailand you aren't thinking beach. Try, but I know you're lying. Ideas and images of long days spent on the beach tanning and swimming are the norm when people think of Thailand, it's just how the country's tourism is marketed and what most people do when they come here.
Fact of the matter is I live in northern Thailand, far from the beach. Chiang Mai is a city surrounded by mountains and has a record winter low of near freezing. Though it has never snowed, the mountain tops often have frozen morning dew that attracts plenty of tourists, Thai and foreign, taking photos and selfies of the spectacle. The lakes and river spots that are fun to frequent don't really have much sunny real estate, leaving few options for a beach-like day. The only way I am going to get sun baked is if I go to one of a few public pools and spend the daily fee to lounge at the perimeter bronzing. That's not even close to a day at the beach.
My prior place of residence in the Kingdom was none other than the super metropolis that is Bangkok. Although it is much nearer the beach than Chiang Mai, it's still about 3+ hours to get there, which really isn't all that bad considering that Bangkok traffic can make a cross city venture take about half that. Though it is closer to the beach, I will say that living in Bangkok offers even less opportunities to capture that free feeling that comes with beach days. Sure, it has Flow House, a cool wave to surf while surrounded by the high-rises and skyscrapers, but if you aren't at Flow House your only option for trying to emulate the sand and saltwater experience is a hotel or condo pool. They too are not beach, making it quite easy to forget you are closer to it than Chiang Mai, especially when the buildings tower overhead like the mountains of the north.
There are definitely times when I want to be the vagabond whose only worry is making it to a bus station or airport on time to get to my next destination. That freedom is a lovely feeling, and it comes with a complete disregard for what time it is. As far as my freedom goes, however, I have as much as the standard 9-5er does back home. I work Monday through Friday and look forward to weekends, when I can cut loose, drown myself in the Internet, watch a senseless movie, or be lazy just because it's my time. Those two sweet days certainly don't allow enough time for a visit to the beach, unless I want to spend a third or more of my monthly salary for a day and a half of beach time. Fact is, I don't.
I enjoy living in the mountains, it's quite similar to where I grew up, in northern California's Sierra Nevadas. I love that here I can jump on my motor bike and wind my way through curves and inclines, and within 30 minutes be climbing and weaving through high jungle forest and cool mountain air. I can stop at a strawberry farm, walk around a massive and pristine botanical garden, sit and watch elephants pass as I sip locally grown coffee, and eat lunch in a delicious fusion restaurant tucked away in the shadow of a jungle peak. Quite a good list of a weekend day's activities at the cost of not being in close proximity to the beach, to be honest.
Chiang Mai is a city with a great international influence, producing an amazingly unique blend of gastronomic delights and a vibrant cafe culture. To make matters even better, most everything you get your hands on, from food to coffee, is grown locally and organically just beyond the borders of the city. No need to eat at a chain restaurant when there is an array of family owned restaurants with menus boasting unique recipes of Thai and international origin, all comprised of locally grown produce. Vegetarian, are you? No problem! The city hosts a great number of vegetarian restaurants, and many places have vegetarian options on the menu. If you like coffee and food, you will LOVE Chiang Mai, and you can find out for yourself why some call it a foodie paradise.
Thailand truly has much more to offer than beach, and I recommend to anyone headed to the Kingdom to explore beyond it, out into central and northern Thailand. Getting beyond the areas where tourism rules all is a fantastic contrast to experience because it immerses you in the lesser known cultural riches of the country. Find the places where the menu isn't tailored to western preferences, the people know very little or no English, the smiles are large, warm and inviting, hospitality and effort to accommodate will amaze you, and the people laugh with you often. It's truly humbling.
Thailand truly has much more to offer than beach, and I recommend to anyone headed to the Kingdom to explore beyond it, out into central and northern Thailand. Getting beyond the areas where tourism rules all is a fantastic contrast to experience because it immerses you in the lesser known cultural riches of the country. Find the places where the menu isn't tailored to western preferences, the people know very little or no English, the smiles are large, warm and inviting, hospitality and effort to accommodate will amaze you, and the people laugh with you often. It's truly humbling.
I must say, however, that the irony here is that I'm actually writing this post while on vacation, with no idea what time it is, and it just so happens that I'm at a beach. I'm surrounded by restaurants appealing to western cravings, and many of the locals are English proficient. Oh well. I'll take it, for now.
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