March 9, 2019Erin Nicole
Change things up! Try something new. Variety is the spice of life. Haven’t you heard these things before? I know I know. It can be scary doing new things. You might be thinking, what if I fail? What if I make a fool of myself? Believe me, you will! And it’s perfectly okay! No one is perfect and no new invention, product or service is perfect on its first go. How many Iphone versions are there now? Would you want the first generation version now? No! But why? Had it not been for that first version, feedback, and company reflections we wouldn’t have the 27th generation Iphone (or whatever gen they have now).
I’m speaking about the Iphone specifically because Apple has helped so many people with their products. They went and created things that didn’t exist. Steve Jobs, no matter what your opinion of the guy, was a genius at going outside of the comfort zone. He predicted that we’d be able to use our phones for just about everything and guess what? Besides a personal massage, the phone can do just about anything you need. Buy a plane ticket? Done. Scan your ticket from your phone at the airport? Done. Buy and invest in stocks? Done. FaceTime your great grandma from Italy? Done. All, because he wasn’t afraid of going outside of his comfort zone. That is where the magic happens.
In this blog you’ll read different real life practical tips to going outside of your comfort zone. In doing so, you might improve your mindset, confidence and connect better in your community. I’d love your feedback, comments, and ideas. If you’re absolutely loving this read please share with a friend or two.
(My niece is pictured above. She’s not afraid to try something new. She has her own youtube channel with her dad creating imaginary episodes with her dolls and music she writes. She has a few million views on her episodes! She just turned 7 btw. Don’t let age be an excuse for you).
Magical Point 1: Decide a new skill you want to learn
Learning a new skill can increase your confidence in that subject.
The more skills you learn, the more confident you will be over all which can spill over into your mindset. Have you ever met a person that had a bunch of skills and was constantly learning new ones?
I have a non-related uncle Tim that’s just like that! He’s so fun to be around because he’s always teaching me something new! Now that I’ve moved across the country, we connect using our Iphones. He has taught me over the years SO many things. One thing he taught me by example is that you can have your own bee hive on the side of your house. You can also grow your own corn in your backyard in a terrible climate like Washington state (where he lives).
Another thing he taught me which is truly invaluable, is to love your Creator. Regardless of your faith, most of us believe there is something greater than ourselves. His example of this in my life helped me through a lot of my doubting years when I was going through hard times. He and his late wife Rebecca, my mom’s best friend, were excellent examples of knowing their Bible verses (3×5 cards were in their car, in their bathroom and such). Both he and Rebecca were not afraid to talk about their faith and recognize that they could always learn more and be better citizens by contributing to their communities.
(Me and “Uncle Tim” a few years back. He and my dad grew up together and got into mischievous things in their childhood as he was the son of a preacher haha!)
Magical Point 2: Make a list of things you’d like to accomplish
For me, I want to accomplish a marathon by the end of 2020. Specifically, I would love to do the China wall marathon! I haven’t been to Asia yet so why not explore it with my feet? I have a long list of things I’d like to accomplish and as I complete the things, I check them off! It’s fun. I add to it as I hear of what other people have accomplished and if it inspires me I want to do it too!
If you’re struggling with getting things accomplished, there’s a great blog I found. I’d love to hear what is on your list! Shoot me a message or comment below.
Magical Point 3: Sign up for a course
What course have you been dying to take? Online or in person. I’d love to hear what you’re planning!
For me, I knew I wanted to teach online courses and I had the experience of doing in person group teaching but I wanted it to be the best possible. So I signed up for a course on the Udemy app by Phil Ebiner on how to teach successful online courses. He is phenomenal! I’ve used his methods to refine some of my course and plan to continue refining as he continually adds more value when you purchase from him. I highly recommend you taking his course if you’re into photoshop or Adobe training. I highly recommend you sign up for his courses if you have any interest in teaching anything online and profiting from it.
As for in person courses, I am excited to take a cooking course! I am talking my friend and amazing chef, Lisa into hosting a monthly class in her home for us ladies. Stay tuned for some pics from that new fun experience!
Magical point 4: Find ways to add value in your work place
How are you adding value today? Do me a favor, and really challenge yourself today to add more value to your work place. Even if you hate the place! Trust me, this will work in your favor.
When I worked in the psychiatric hospital, I worked in active treatment. We co-lead groups for patients that lived there. They would come down every morning for 2 hours and take 2 50-minute courses with 10 minute breaks between. We would escort them back up to their wards for lunch break and greet them in the afternoon for 2 more hours of active treatment. We’d escort them back up for their evening activities and we had about 60 minutes or so for charting notes throughout the day and planning the next day.
After I got the swing of things, I wanted to gain more experience in one on one interaction. I love and have a tendency to go above and beyond the required. So I asked one of the psychologists from the wards if I could help him lower his caseload by providing 1:1 time with a few patients.
He was thrilled that I asked to help and gave me a list right away. After interviewing me (like a real job) to find my psychological style and methods, he agreed to allow me a couple patients on my case load and I would send him the notes on a weekly basis of our interactions and what we did during our 1:1 time. We met regularly and he gave me some pointers when I was struggling with a patient to get them to open up to me. I gained a lot of confidence in my meetings with him because he would tell me about the patients approaching him thanking him for connecting us for that 1:1 time. They needed to feel connected and feel appreciated and he and I were able to provide that to some of the patients that needed it most.
Later on in the year there was an opening for a promotion within the psychology department. I was working as a recreational specialist in a different department but was encouraged by my colleagues to apply for this new opportunity with my MS in psychology. I applied for the promotion. My boss Sue told me she didn’t even think they’d interview me because my MS wasn’t licensed for practicing as a therapist. However, she said you’ve got the heart and I say go for it!
There were 17 people that were interviewed for the first round. I was so nervous sitting outside of the interview room. I was holding a copy of my self published book, and a copy of the Move Happy Journal I had created for my patients. I walked in to the interview and was greeted by 2 psychologists and a licensed mental health therapist. One of the psychologists was the head of psychology for the entire hall I worked in. Talk about pressure! She asked me what were the books I was holding. I told her I had written them. She looked through my Move Happy® Journal and her eyes lit up. She said, “You Wrote this? You need to get this copyrighted and protect your writing.” The interview went well and I waited a couple days to hear back.
I was called back for a second interview just 1:1 with the same gal that advised me to copyright my material. She informed me that it was down to just me and another gal who was licensed to practice mental health but lacked the experience in the hospital setting. She asked me if I had any practical 1:1 experience with the patients. I asked if volunteering counted? She said, absolutely! I told her of my volunteering experience under the direction of the psychologist I had offered to help. She was impressed and offered me the position right there.
I began training right away with Kari the gal who’s role I’d be replacing as she was getting a promotion herself. I worked in the position for a week while she was on vacation and then took my vacation. Sadly, when I came back I was informed Washington State budget cuts had closed down the entire hall and I was to go back to my original role in the treatment mall.
I was really sad about it for a while because I had celebrated with my friends and now ex-fiance.’ He and I really needed that extra income. Later that turned into a turning point in our relationship and we eventually split up. Had that job gone through, I might have never left the unhealthy relationship and I know I wouldn’t have moved across the country to Tennessee. Since then, I’ve been able to Trademark my Move Happy® Brand, package my program for other group facilitators and am now in conversations with partners wanting to help accelerate my business. That job offer (though it was cut by the State) gave me the confidence that I can really do anything I set my mind to. All because I decided to add value to the work place.
When you make a decision to add value to your workplace, you never know how it will turn out. Believe me, no one ever regretted going above and beyond what was required. I don’t regret that working experience one bit! I just wish states paid mental health employees more than they do! Its one of the reasons why the turnover is so high.
I’d love to hear ways you’re adding value at your work place above and beyond the required.
(The team I worked with at the psych hospital went WAY above and beyond the required. Not everyone is pictured but you can see me in the front on the right and Sue my supervisor is next to me in the teal top. She is in charge of the active treatment mall. Behind her on the right is Karissa who brought her Spotify music to our Happy Wall Day for the patients. Alek next to her helped provide great feedback for the first version of Move Happy (16 week course I created for my patients to move them towards happiness through journaling, group discussion and workouts with minimal equipment). Laura next to Alek in the green top, she is an amazing mama and military spouse. She always was helping with logistics when we’d plan events for the patients. The silly guy next to her with the hat is Danny. He is Mr. Popular and always bubbly and positive. He was a great mentor to me when I worked there and supported me with my affirmations in his classes. Not sure who is next to him in the back. Front row left is Sayaka, she co-led Move Happy® with me for the patients. She’s a licensed mental health therapist and brings the Japanese culture, lots of yoga and mindfulness and really a peaceful presence. Next to her is Sue who ran the patients token store. Patients earned points by going to classes and participating. She and another Sue (not pictured) ran the store with the help of patients. They provided goodies on a weekly basis to patients as positive reinforcements for activities that would help move them towards discharge and healthy living. Next to her is the lovely Kathryn. She took my before/after pics for the original Move Happy® exercises for my station day. They didn’t have wifi access for me to demo videos for the patients so I had pictures of the moves to demo as reminders for the patients. Since then I’ve upgraded the material to video demonstrations for ease of understanding and clarity. Lastly, front and center is Diane. Amazing kind and full of light. She worked all over the hospital depending on where she was needed. She is also a mom and over achiever. I go led a couple classes with her and she taught me SO much about organization and compassion for the patients. What a team!)
Magical point 5: journal and reflect on the highs and lows of doing things outside of your comfort zone
This whole week has been focused on doing things that challenge and stretch your comfort zone. I strongly suggest that you journal on a daily basis. If you can’t daily, journal during the transition periods where you’re doing things that challenge you. Focus on how that experience made you feel and how proud you are of overcoming it. If you didn’t overcome it, write ways that you can improve for next time! Remember, everything is a process. There is no such thing as perfection, only reflection and improvement.
I would love to hear your thoughts on journaling below!
So you got to read different real life practical tips to going outside of your comfort zone. You read about deciding new skills to learn, making lists of things you want to accomplish, signing up for courses (both online and in person), finding ways to adding value at work, and the benefits of journaling to reflect on stretching your self and your comfort zone. If you apply what you’ve read, you very well could improve your mindset, confidence and connect better in your community.
I’d love your feedback, comments, and ideas. If you’re absolutely loving this read please share with a friend or two. To stay connected and be informed about blog releases and things follow me on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I’m new to the Snap world and am on there too! You can also sign up for my free email newsletter and score a free digital download of the Move Happy® Journal I created for my patients in the psych hospital by going here.
Thanks for reading!
PS: Don’t forget to tell someone you love them today…
PPS: I’m starting my next round of my Move Happy® Elite VIP Leadership Course the week of April 15th. This is a 6-week online course you take at your own pace. It includes worksheets, videos, and quizzes throughout each lesson. It’s fun, interactive and you’ll have lifetime access to the content. There are 7 other bonuses too! You do NOT want to miss out. This is where you get certified as a Move Happy® Coach with optional CECs.
Click here for more info on the course and message me for application today. Early registration discount from now until April 1st (Regular pricing $2,497 early bird $1,997 payment plans available at 4 payments of only $547 each.
Hurry you must lock in your registration before April 1st by applying here and sending payment here. Worried it might not be for you? No worries, I offer a 14-day $ back guarantee and you get to keep the Move Happy® Journal as a thank you for giving my program a try. I only have 5 spots available for this next round. I can’t wait to work with you!
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