An Interview With Maria Angelova
Research has shown that if we set meaningful goals and then break them down into bite sized pieces, we are more likely to achieve our goals. Our courage grows every time we complete one of the smaller steps until we have achieved the goal. This gives us the courage to then set the next goal.
It feels most comfortable to stick with what we are familiar with. But anyone who has achieved great success will tell you that true growth comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. What are some ways that influential people have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to grow both personally and professionally? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Amanda Heal.
Amanda survived being born 14 weeks premature in the 70’s, , and was left totally blind, as the oxygen which kept her alive damaged her eyes. Despite this, Amanda has continued to surprise people with her professional and personal achievements including graduating with honours in law from the Australian National University, a 17 year career as a government lawyer, climbing to an altitude of 10,000 feet in Nepal, and conquering her phobia of getting lost to travel independently both within Australia and overseas. Amanda is a keynote speaker, sharing her 5 keys to increasing resilience by building courage, as well as podcaster and author of multiple books, the latest being Seeing By Vision Not By Sight.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I was not sent to a school for the blind, as most children were in the 70’s, as my parents got together with a group of parents of other blind children, in Canberra, where I live, and lobbied the government until they allowed us to attend our local schools with the help of specialist support teachers and braille transcribers. Whilst I didn’t have many friends at school, I was a member of the debating team, and played the trumpet in the school band. Following high school, I then attended the Australian National University where I was the first totally blind student to successfully complete a combined commerce law degree, graduating with honours in law.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I have been a committed Christian since the age of 16, so many of my favourite quotes come from the bible. The quote that springs to mind most quickly is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. While my faith has varied in strength throughout the ears, I think it really came into its own when I was laid off from my 17 year legal career. In Australia we refer to that as “being made redundant”. That was exactly how I felt — redundant, no longer needed. But it was my faith that kept me going, and kept me strong.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
The musical Phantom of the Opera broke my heart. When I went to see it, I was in my early 20’s, and I was single and very lonely. Just in case you haven’t seen it, it tells the story of a beautiful soprano Christine, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious masked musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opera House. I won’t tell the whole story as it is long, but the two things that broke my heart were that the Phantom, who has a disfigured face and wears a mask longs to be loved, and at the end Christine has to choose between him and the man to whom she is engaged. She ends up choosing her fiancé. I could relate so much to the Phantom’s loneliness. While I was not disfigured as he was, I felt that being totally blind made me a little different from everyone else, and I was desperately lonely. When Christine left the Phantom calling out her name, I started to cry and couldn’t stop, much to the embarrassment of those around me.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s start with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does “getting outside of your comfort zone” mean?
To me, “getting outside of my comfort zone” means facing my fears. It involves taking a risk to do something I am uncomfortable or even afraid to do so that I can be or do something I want.
Can you help articulate a few reasons why it is important to get out of your comfort zone?
This is a vital part of living a full and fulfilling life. Not getting outside of our comfort zone means we stick with the easy, familiar, low risk, comfortable things in life. It means never trying anything new, never broadening our horizons, or taking on new experiences.
Is it possible to grow without leaving your comfort zone? Can you explain what you mean?
No, I don’t think it is possible to truly grow without leaving our comfort zone. It makes me think of learning how to swim, something that I think every human being should do, for reasons of safety. To learn to swim, I first had to conquer my fear of sinking by learning to float in the water. Then, I had to get over the fear of drowning by going into deeper water where I couldn’t touch the bottom without going under the water. All these things required me to get outside my comfort zone. As I overcame my fears, my comfort zone got larger. While I am by no means a confident or strong swimmer, I would be able to stay afloat if I fell into water. This is growth.
Can you share some anecdotes from your personal experience? Can you share a story about a time when you stepped out of your comfort zone and how it helped you grow? How does it feel to take those first difficult steps?
I used to catch the bus to school and university without much difficulty. But shortly after I started work, I found a number of people who were willing to drive me to work, and after I was laid off, I didn’t need to travel much. So I didn’t catch a bus for about 20 years. Over time, I became convinced that if I caught a bus, I would get lost, and that would be disastrous. My phobia of getting lost became so bad that even the sound of a bus driving past would make my heart race.
After retraining as a John C Maxwell speaker, trainer and coach, I was offered a paid job as a public relations speaker for the local Guide Dogs Association. I jumped at the chance as this would allow me to improve upon my newly acquired speaking skills, I would be paid for something I had done on a voluntary basis for years, and I could give back to the organisation who had given me 4 beautiful guide dogs. During the interview though I was told that I would be expected to travel to as many speaking engagements as possible by public transport, and I was so afraid I nearly threw up in the interviewer’s lap. But, in the end, I decided that it wouldn’t be authentic of me to stand in front of audiences and talk about independent travel if I was being driven everywhere, so did two weeks of intensive training to overcome my fears and learn how to catch busses again. When I was learning to catch busses again, I started by getting on and off a stationary bus and practicing finding a seat on the bus. Once I was able to do this, I went on a short bus ride with a Guide Dog Instructor sitting beside me keeping me calm. I then took the same journey with the instructor somewhere on the bus (I didn’t know where), and finally I rode on the bus alone and met the instructor at an agreed location. Each step allowed me to build my confidence until I was able to move to the next step which would build my confidence further, until I was able to travel alone and control my anxiety. After completing each step, I was exhausted, but also felt elated, as I was one step closer to conquering my fear.
Here is the central question of our discussion. What are your “five ways to push past your comfort zone, to grow both personally and professionally”?
I believe that in order to step outside our comfort zone, we need courage. As a keynote speaker, I share my 5 ways to increase courage which are to fix your eyes on the prize not the problem, optimise your goals, connect with your conviction, upgrade your courage regularly and see your success by putting your courage into action.
Fix Your Eyes On The Prize
When I was offered the job of PR speaker for my local Guide Dogs Association, I almost turned down the job as one of the conditions was that I would have to travel to as many speaking engagements as possible by public transport, and I had developed a phobia of catching busses and getting lost. But I really wanted the job, so agreed to do 2 weeks of intensive training to learn how to catch busses again. This was very hard for me and there were many times I wanted to give up. But the one thing that kept me going was that I really wanted that job. Every time my fear threatened to stop me, I had to keep my focus on successfully completing the training so I could travel independently and get the job.
Optimise Your Goals
Research has shown that if we set meaningful goals and then break them down into bite sized pieces, we are more likely to achieve our goals. Our courage grows every time we complete one of the smaller steps until we have achieved the goal. This gives us the courage to then set the next goal.
When I got my first guide dog, my goal was to be able to travel independently with that dog. But I wasn’t just given the dog and set free in the big wide world. The dog and I had to first learn to walk safely in a straight line. Once we had completed that, we had to learn to turn left and right. Then we progressed on to safely crossing roads. This was all done in a quiet residential area, but then we moved on to a busy residential area with more people and traffic, and finally on to a busy shopping mall. Each step gave us the skills and confidence to move onto the next step and the net, until we were deemed to be able to travel safely as an independent team.
Connect With Your Conviction
In 1992, I was invited to go on a trek to Nepal with a group of other blind people. I was young and reasonably fit, but knew I had to get fitter for the trek. In the 6 months leading up to the trek, I increased my fitness by riding on an exercise bike, using a stair climbing machine and going on lots and lots of long walks, usually involving steep hills. I was the youngest person in the trekking group, and was absolutely determined that I would not be left behind on the trek. I knew that if I didn’t get fit enough I would be left behind. It was this conviction that kept me going whenever I got tired or wanted to stop training. It was worth it. I wasn’t left behind, but stayed in the middle of the group throughout the trek.
Upgrade Your Courage
Some have said that courage is like a muscle. Once that muscle is made strong, it needs to be used regularly to keep it strong.
When COVID hit, I didn’t have any Guide Dogs Association speaking engagements for around 6 months. I also didn’t catch any busses for 6 months either. During that time, I started to lose my confidence and feel afraid at the thought of catching a bus again. My courage muscle was getting weaker as it was not being used. That first bus trip after the lockdowns ended was hard. I have realised that bus travel is something that I will have to continue to do regularly to keep my courage strong and stop the fears from coming back.
See Your success By Putting Your Courage Into Action
After I was laid off from my legal job, I decided that I would sell Arbonne skincare products. Around 6 months after I started, there was a global training conference in Las Vegas. I decided that I wanted to attend, as I thought that surely I would learn something there that would help me do better in my skincare business. Everyone else I knew who was travelling from Australia was taking their family with them and taking a holiday on either side of the conference. I didn’t have the money to do this, so if I wanted to go, I would have to travel alone. I had travelled by plane alone before, but had always been met at the other end by someone I knew. But this time, I wouldn’t be, and would also have to change planes a couple of times both in Australia and America. It took a lot of courage to organise and undertake the journey, but it was definitely worth it. I loved the conference, met some great people, and know that with proper planning and some courage I can travel anywhere in the world I like. I have even been able to pass on the knowledge I gained from this experience to other grind people who have since travelled overseas themselves.
From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that keep someone from pushing out of their comfort zone?
I think the most common barrier to pushing ourselves outside our comfort zone is fear. The next most common is self-talk — all those what if questions we ask ourselves, particularly those concerning failure, and thoughts around self-doubt.
There is a well-known quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt that says, “Do something that scares you every day”. What exactly does this mean to you? Is there inherent value in doing something that pushes you out of your comfort zone, even if it does not relate to personal or professional growth? For example, if one is uncomfortable about walking alone at night should they purposely push themselves to do it often for the sake of going beyond their comfort zone? Can you please explain what you mean?
If we don’t step outside our comfort zone regularly, even if just a little, we can lose the ability to do so, and our comfort zone can even shrink. When I didn’t catch a bus for around 20 years, I became afraid to do so, as I was convinced that if I did, I would get lost. As the years went on, the fear of getting lost became greater. A taxi had dropped me at the wrong house once, and so I stopped catching those too. Eventually, I got to the point that I wouldn’t leave the house alone unless I was being driven by a friend or family member, or I was 100% confident to walk to where I needed to go (and that wasn’t many places).
Stepping outside our comfort zone is not easy, and it takes a lot of mental energy to do it. When I did the training to learn how to catch busses again, I had to lie down and rest after each training session, as I was mentally exhausted. So I believe we have to pick our battles as it were. If someone is uncomfortable walking alone at night and they never have to do so, I don’t think it is necessary that they do so just for the sake of stepping outside their comfort zone, unless there is truly nothing else that they need to do in their life which requires them to step outside their comfort zone.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I have written 2 books on how to discover life’s purpose. The latest is called Seeing By Vision not By Sight and is about how a person can discover their life’s purpose and put it into action. I passionately believe that everyone is put on earth for a purpose, and if they can discover it and live out that purpose, they will be the best version of themselves. My life’s purpose is to inspire and encourage others and I live out that purpose through writing and speaking.
So, if I could start a movement, it would be to inspire and encourage others to discover and live out their lives purpose.
Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!
When I started selling Arbonne, I started studying John C Maxwell’s books so that I could become a better leader and build a team to sell more product. I didn’t build a team but instead, I applied his principles learnt to lead myself and have become a better, stronger person as a result. I even retrained as a John C Maxwell speaker, trainer and coach, and have helped others apply his teaching in their own lives.
I have had the honour of meeting John Maxwell very briefly whilst attending his certification conferences. But it would be lovely to be able to sit and talk with him for a little while to thank him for all he has done in my life and the lives of others, see what he is up to, and know his plans for the future. He has the wonderful ability to speak to thousands and make each person in the room feel like he is speaking directly to them. If I can become even a fraction of the speaker he is, I will be happy.
How can our readers follow you online?
Here are my contact links
Contact links
Website: https://amandaheal.com.au
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandajheal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaJHeal
twitter: https://twitter.com/amandaheal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AmandaJHeal
Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5lft4eXbhw-kiENv70g7Fg
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.
Amanda Heal On How to Go Beyond Your Comfort Zone to Grow Both Personally and Professionally was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.