For anyone who knows me, you know that at heart, I’m an introvert. You will also know that I’m very ambitious and resourceful – and I love my Heidi-Time.

Today, I’d like to share a little bit more about me. The purpose of doing so will hopefully get you to look inside of you and find out what is going to help get you out of your comfort zone and onto the track that will get you to your goals this year.

With my love of Heidi-Time, I find it very easy to get caught in the trap of just relaxing and lounging at home, very comfortable with my own company and my own space. Many years ago a relationship ended and I went into seclusion – not purposefully, but I found safe things to do on my own. As a result, I’m now Dr. Heidi, but also as a result I found myself quite lonely at times. Even introverts get lonely!

I did what I could to get out of my house, but would traditionally end up back on my own, with a DVD, a book or the internet for great entertainment. Looking at the ‘wheel of life’ we often use in NLP Land, every area of my life was going well, with one glaring exception – relationships. Now, my relationship with myself is good. And, my relationship with my family is good. But, my friendships with local people, not so good.

A couple of years ago I found out about a website called meetup.com – it was started in New York after 9-11 to create communities of people as support networks. Since then it has grown globally and has tons of different types of communities to get involved in. I joined Meetup.com and went to a few different activities. But, my somewhat un-useful patterns would kick in – the pattern of least resistance for me was to stay in my comfort zone – and that meant staying home. Although I met a few great people, it was easier to stay at home than to go have THAT conversation (where are you from, where do you live, what do you do…).

So, in September of 2011 I decided to start my own Meetup. 4 months on and I have 515 new ‘friends’ – most of whom I have met at some event. We are the fastest growing Meetup group in Australia at the moment and we have fun! I organise and host at least one event each week – sometimes two depending on what is going on. As few as 8 (only once, on the first Meetup) and as many as 76 people have done various things like going to the movies, dinner, lunch, drinks, walks, burlesque, etc. and, we even had a New Years Eve party! This coming weekend I currently have 110 people registered to come to a Sydney Festival event! Amazing!

I’ve been commended and thanked by the people in the group. Yesterday at a drinks/lunch event on Cockatoo Island a new guy commented “I’ve been to a lot of Meetups before, but this is the first one with ‘real’, authentic people”. I love that! I’ve gotten out of my comfort zone and I’ve done something to create more balance in my life. Sure, I’m confident and can be quite outgoing – but putting myself out there is sometimes a challenge. One thing I know for sure – not only is this experiment of “getting Heidi out of her house” helping me, it is helping so many other people to get out of their house, make friends, get involved in community and get out of their comfort zones.

I can guarantee that for the first few Meetups I hosted I had to use a lot of NLP State Management tools and calm my nerves. But now, I know that I’ll see some of my new friends that I am getting to know and I’ll meet a few new people and have THAT conversation. I also know that there is a lot more balance in my life. There is also a lot more food and alcohol, but that’s OK!

For a while I’ve been trying to find a hobby, but everything I could think of was a very ‘alone’ kind of hobby… now I have a hobby I didn’t intend – socialising.

What can you do that pushes you outside of your comfort zone and onto the track for achieving your goals, making your life even better and letting yourself soar?

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