I am once again sitting in a café and writing. I've just been working on my vision, or rather I've been writing down what has just flowed out of me. I have been reflecting on where I want to go and what it takes to get there. In my last post I wrote more about what is involved. I was also able to sense that what I will face in life will not always be easy. Why is that? How do I know that? I am speaking from experience of the last few years ... .
When I started with personal development and consciously attended my first seminars, I went there with the focus of becoming more aware of my goals. Many people associate personal development with "self-optimisation" and checklists - that's how it was for me in the beginning. For example: If I network more, do sport regularly and meditate every day, I'll be on my way and achieve everything I dream of. That's easy! But personal development is much more than that. These are just a few tools that can support you on your path. For me, personal development means being aware of what I want, who I am and then taking one step at a time towards my goal. But if you decide to go on this journey and then really (!) go for it, you will realise that it is not as rational and simple as it sounds right now. Checklists alone are not enough. What is often portrayed in posts on social media and articles as being so easy, comes with a lot more pain and challenge than you would initially think. You will be mercilessly confronted with yourself along the way, if you are really serious about it. And you yourself are your toughest "opponent", believe me!
When you move to a higher level, i.e. you evolve and leave your comfort zone, your system is not used to it. You are entering new territory. Your system resists because it wants you to stay where you are. Here it is easy and comfortable and above all safe. That's why we feel a great fear of stepping out of this zone. For me, in the past, it was mainly the issue of visibility. I didn't even dare to make a post on social media, let alone show myself or speak my mind. Yet I have a lot to say. Writing these blogposts here are a result of all my inner work, which I am really proud of. Through my job, I have also been gradually "pushed" more and more out of my comfort zone by being allowed to take on a lot of responsibility and becoming more and more visible in the media in print, radio and television. I only say last edition of my interview 600,000 copies. Phew! The next level in personality development is usually associated with a higher degree of difficulty. New level - new enemy. Your system reacts with fear and defence. And many people, as soon as they sense this, immediately take a step back into their comfort zone. Where it is safe and doesn't hurt. That's why not everyone makes it that far.
It always reminds me of my time as an athlete. If you want to win in a sprint, for example, you always reach a point during the race when you think you can't do it any more and your system would like to give up. At that point it's up to you and you only have milliseconds to do it. But as soon as you make the decision to give more, power resources you didn't know you had are activated again. You get an energy booster out of nowhere. Every athlete will be able to confirm this feeling of "high" when you feel absolutely powerful, if only because it came from you. Even if you didn't feel the energy at that moment, it was always there! You just have to make a powerful decision and release it! Maybe that's where my strength to push my limits comes from, because I know how damn good it feels to be in my absolute power. And I know that more is always possible than it first seems! Be it in sport or even in my personal journey. And it's the same with personal development: it just takes a hell of a lot of courage to consistently follow this path and a clear decision. Because you surpass yourself every time.
So what can happen when you step out of your comfort zone? You might have anxiety, sleepless nights or even heart palpitations and panic attacks. I know all this. Your system wants to push you back into your comfort zone with all its might. At sprint it was the feeling of not being able to do more and feeling my circulation. The body rebels against what seems like pushing the limits. It happened to me just the other day that I fainted in a meditation, in a hall with a few thousand people to boot. That might sound a bit extreme now, but actually it just shows that I've come across something valuable. And the enormous energy in the room amplifies everything again. So don't be afraid of meditation now! What I came across was so powerful that my system could no longer handle it and wanted to get out, so to speak - but not with me. I made the decision to look and engage with it.
Your comfort zone is defined by childhood experiences, upbringing and anything else you are afraid of. But if you really want to discover and get to know yourself and see what you are capable of, there is simply no way around stepping out of your comfort zone - out into fear. Just like in sports: if you want to win, you have to get everything out of yourself and push your limits! Exactly where you feel the fear you have to go. Be it a new job that scares you, a new encounter in your life that you can't place or communicating your truth clearly. Fear shows up in all areas of life and it is there to be pursued.
The people who are really successful have gone through a lot of crap. I know this from myself too, that when I see someone who is successful, I often think: "Oh yes, he's made it, he's got it good! He leads a comfortable life!" For example, he has money, does what he loves, lives in a dream environment and gets a lot of attention, which opens all doors in life for him. But what we see here is only the tip of an iceberg. No one sees how many "levels" this person has already gone through in personality development. No one sees how many issues they have been allowed to master along the way in order to be able to attract this amount of money or the dream partner or even to endure this tremendous amount of attention. Imagine reaching a million people with one post. That would scare a lot of people to be judged, seen and criticised by so many people. I also find such large print runs of half a million a little hard to get used to. That's why I keep reminding myself that what these people have achieved often comes with a high price and also with a certain achievement of going through everything that goes with it.
I would like to remind you and myself that personality development is not an easy sleigh ride, where it is a bit bumpy from time to time, and the road is always uphill. It's not about doing yoga regularly, meditating daily and ticking off your checklists. Personal development is about feeling and being, accepting what is and making a clear choice for yourself in life. It is a path through the jungle, over hill and dale, a roller coaster ride. And those who are brave enough to keep going no matter what, deal with whatever life gives them as tasks and those who look and don't run away, they will make their way. I am just remembering my last years and the downs I had to go through. It is not always easy to want to make a difference, especially when you are at the "front" of a process of social change. You experience a lot of resistance. But I have decided to do this and will always continue on my path, with everything that comes along with it! If there's one thing I've learned from sport, it's how important it is to have a clear mindset, to absolutely believe in yourself and to always be ready to surpass yourself. It's ultimately your decision: do you go out for yourself and commit to your path, or do you choose the soft option and rather stay where you are? It can be nice.
You might ask yourself why you should do it, when the path involves so much pain? Because what awaits you is just great! Because you will be incredibly rewarded for everything by being able to live and experience yourself fully. By making your biggest dreams come true! By experiencing things you never thought possible. I'm just excited to find out where my path leads and my curiosity is much bigger than my fear, it always has been. I feel that it won't be easy, but I want it that way and not otherwise. If you really want it and believe in yourself, you will make it!
Are you already walking your path? Do you dare to get out of your comfort zone or do you prefer to stay where you are? When did you dare to take a step? What do you associate with personal development? What do you want? Do you feel on your way? Does your path scare you? What prevents you from going your way? What do you choose? Curiosity and experience or fear? Are you choosing to live your greatest potential?