Is your widescreen TV, love of ice cream, and comfy couch sabotaging your dream of being fit and healthy? Are your “party hardy friends” seducing you back into adolescent behavior? Is your lack of savvy with social media blocking the growth of your business? Is your discomfort in interviews preventing you from going after the job you really want?

We all have our “comfort zones”, the places and habits, and people that make us feel secure. They reassure us that we don’t need to change or grow, that everything is alright “just the way it is”. Or is it? That widescreen TV is great but you know you slide into watching shows you don’t even like. And eating ice cream when watching TV, you don’t even taste the ice cream and you forget how much you have eaten. And the couch—is giving you back and neck aches if you are honest. The ” party friends”—come on, in a pinch, would you really be able to rely upon them?

Is there a dream, a hope tucked away that occasionally sneaks up on you? Just for a moment, you wonder what if I went back to school, started my own business, applied for the Peace Corps, had a baby, asked for a promotion, explored a new career, bought that bakery down the street, built an art studio behind my house, or wrote that novel that keeps playing in my head?

Visualize yourself living that dream—see it, taste it, feel it and write down all the wonderful benefits that dream would offer into your life.   Next look at what you need to give up to reach that dream: approval from friends, time, money, fear of failure, energy? What resources do you need to achieve your dream and how might you get them?

How might you build the support around you to create your dream?
Joanne was working as a receptionist at a Gym and she really wanted to be a professional trainer but failed the test 3 times and had almost given up until she got some personal coaching to build her confidence and figure out ways to prepare for the test that fit with her learning style. She finally re- took and passed the test and became the top trainer at her club and is living the life of her dreams.

Marlene was a high powered consultant in a top firm making more money than she had dreamed possible, yet there was a longing inside for a more simple life. Through coaching she realized she wanted to step away and go on an extended retreat- which nourished her soul and totally shifted the direction of her life.

Martin was working himself to death building his small business, yet it was going nowhere. He wasn’t able to “see the forest above the trees of details”. Through coaching and the building of a team around him, he was able to create a “vision” for his business that didn’t suck the life out of him.

If you have a dream that is withering from neglect or too many doughnuts—slide out of your comfort zone for a minute. Envision your dream, look for needed resources, be willing to sacrifice what you need to, and find a good friend, mentor, coach, or colleague that will support you, challenge you, and hold you accountable for living that dream.