30 Day Comfort Zone Challenge

30 day fitness challenges are one of the few gimmicky, easy to market ideas that can actually work, mostly because they can act as a starting point to motivate a long term lifestyle change by breaking out of normal routines for an achievable period. However, for me, the gym is one of my happy places, and I need no encouragement to stick to my sanity preserving regular full body workout sessions (I am nearly recovered from an injury that has been keeping me off my usual routine and I’m ready to charge in there like a bull at the gate). But knowing the value of 30 day challenges for mixing things up, I have decided to create my own in a different area of life.

I’m going to use January as a starting point for breaking out of my comfort zones. Comfort zones are where we feel no stress or anxiety; the safety of the familiar. A bit of anxiety, however, is what pushes us to learn, adapt and become better, so leaving the safety and comfort of the familiar to try something new is necessary for growth. I have identified the areas of my life where I am the least adventurous and that need some shaking up — my social life, writing, creative expression, communication in my second language and intimacy in my relationship. Here is my list of comfort zone challenges I’m going to achieve in January:

1. Start a conversation with a stranger on public transport
2. Make an artwork in a new style
3. Invite someone I’ve never had over to my house
4. Show my partner some of my attempts at fiction writing
5. Ask someone for help
6. Ask someone for help again (seriously, I really need to do this more)
7. Have a conversation with someone in my second language
8. Have a conversation with a native speaker of my second language, in my second language
9. Take my partner on a date somewhere we’ve never been
10. Compliment a stranger
11. Ask a colleague out for coffee
12. Write a new style of story
13. Host a BBQ at my house with more than 8 people
14. Visit a suburb I’ve never been to
15. Try an activity I’ve never done with friends
16. Play a new game with my partner
17. Start a conversation with a colleague I haven’t talked to much
18. Join and attend a meetup
19. Show someone my art
20. Ask someone for feedback on my writing
21. Organise an activity with someone I’ve never socialised with
22. Talk to someone at the gym
23. Learn how to make something new
24. Try a new art medium
25. Ask someone for their advice
26. Get a new style of haircut
27. Post an artwork on social media
28. Have a meaningful, personal conversation with someone new
29. Go to a bar on my own and chat to the bartender
30. Do an activity with my partner that neither of us have tried

That’s it. My list of challenges to push the boundaries of my comfort zone in January. I will post my reflections on this process in February to let you know whether it helped and what I learnt. What are you going to try, to break out of your comfort zones?