4 posts per week for 10 weeks. 40 posts in all. That was the expectation from LCAP. Needless to say, these had to be meaningful and useful posts. It seemed like a mountain of a task to me, and I wondered how I would accomplish it. There was no other option except to put in the hours. Write, write and write.

Here are 3 lessons that were reinforced for me during this experience:

1) The first lesson that was reinforced was the importance of STRETCH goals. On my own, I would never have set this high a goal for myself. But when I was compelled to do it, I did it.

I actually surprised myself by how much there was within me. This is what happens when we don’t stretch ourselves. A stretch goal extends and expands us. It brings out so much more from within us, that we didn’t even know existed. On a funny note, we are like dogs – the higher the biscuit, the higher we jump.

2) I am comfortable with writing. LCAP expected us to use different content formats, and not only writing. We had to use polls, images, videos etc. Again, I was thrown out of my comfort zone. I have never even considered polls as a content format for myself. It just wasn’t on my radar. But when I was compelled, I did it.

The poll received the highest engagement I have ever received on a post so far. I also learned Canva (software tool) and created a sketchnote for the first time, because I was pushed out of my comfort zone. In fact, I wasn’t even aware that I had boxed myself into a comfort zone.

There are so many areas of life where we have locked ourselves into a comfort zone and are unaware of it.

A sure indicator that you are getting out of your comfort zone is pain. If there is no pain, you are still stuck in your comfort zone. The extending and expanding causes pain, and that’s how growth happens. 

3) I used the term “lessons were reinforced”, because it’s not that I didn’t know these things before. All of you know these lessons too. There’s nothing particularly new about them. The only difference is between Knowing and Doing.

It’s one thing to take a course on goal setting. It’s another thing to set a stretch goal and execute on it. Both are important. Unless we do, we don’t really know.

I also learned that many of these universal life lessons (working hard, integrity, continuous learning etc.) have to be reinforced constantly throughout life. Simply because they are so difficult and painful to learn.

Our human nature keeps resisting them, and the world around us creates excruciating circumstances which make us take the easy route. Execute your goals despite all the obstacles in your path. The results are totally worth it.

Self Reflection
Choose one area of life where you will set a stretch goal yourself. Push your limits, get out of your comfort zone, extend and expand yourself, and don’t stop until you accomplish your goal. One or two areas are enough, it’s not prudent to shake up all areas of your life at the same time.

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Image by succo from Pixabay