In the movie Annie Hall, Woody Allen’s character compares a relationship to a shark- “It has to constantly move forward or it dies”. The idea is the same with this tip.

Camping out inside your comfort zone is luxuriously seductive and dangerously deceptive. The allure of avoidance which provides short-term relief, imperceptively becomes your gathering executioner.

Your comfort zone is not meant to be a way of life. It is a place to rest, rejuvenate and replenish. That’s all. From there you are called to move back out seeking your next stretch action- taking small risks, meeting new people, testing new concepts and skills, saying yes when you want to say no. Leaning into life not laying down on it.

Can it be scary? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. Do you have a choice? For a while yes but sooner or later the chickens come home to roost.

Paradoxically when you make taking stretch actions your new normal, your zone of comfort expands. Your capacity to handle whatever life serves up is fortified.

How do you do it? Start from right where you are- today. Make it your new guiding mantra- where can I stretch today? Identify two or three instances where you eschew your lair of comfort and march the road of more resistance.

Start small and collect victories. Watch as your new identity as an obstacle buster exhilarates you and propels you to greater triumphs. Celebrate your integrated relationship with life knowing you are a shark on the move.

At the end of the day, after all the analyzing, doubting, planning, wondering, all the thinking and feeling, the only thing that really matters is what you do!

It is your actions that have determined what you are today, where you are going, and who you will become.

If it is that simple why is it so hard?

One significant reason is fear. Fear infiltrates your mind and diabolically generates thoughts to frighten, mislead and confound.

Your solution? You avoid taking action or you take safe actions with minimal yield that keep you in the trance of “I’m doing things”.

A true solution? Action. Not just any action. Targeted Action.

What is Targeted Action? It is action that demonstrates your willingness to change. It will be something you do that is different and it often inches you outside your comfort zone. It is behavior that moves you in the direction of a goal, vision or purpose. It will be new. It will be bold as it flies in the face of fear.

There is an important distinction however. Targeted Action is not THE perfect action. Perfection is the problem. It is fear hijacking the process. Keep it simple, run your action plan by a trusted other for verification and support, then act and learn.

When you truly understand that even awkward, uncertain actions, no matter how small, are better than thinking those same thoughts, being scared by those same feelings or doing that same busy work, than you are on the way. Change has become a reality.

In December I will share 12 tips for making change distilled over the past year in my coaching classes. They are a combination of tools and practices that allow you the opportunity to live your way into a new life.

For many these will be familiar directives for personal and professional development. The words may differ but the concepts will be similar. So why take the time for me to write and the reader to read? Simple – for the reminder.

• We need to be reminded that we are magnificent “forgetters”. The light fades quickly. A steady drip is good medicine.
• We need to be reminded that many of us have minds that tack toward the negative and without guiding beacons can be swamped by fear, doubt, and grasping.
• We need to be reminded that we often look past the answers laid at our feet sure that the solution resides elsewhere.
• We need to be reminded that we resist the uncomfortable and are easily seduced by new, fast and easy.
• We need to be reminded that change is indeed a process and not an event.
• We need to be reminded that this process is not to be missed as it is the gateway to a greater you.
• We need to be reminded that hope and change start this second in your next decision.

While I’m in a reminding spirit here’s one more – keep your eye on what’s important over the final month of 2011. Combine joy and connection with mindfulness and prudence. It will help set a strong foundation for 2012. Enjoy the Twelve Tips for Change of Christmas.