Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

Often times you hear people speak about “stepping out of your comfort zone” and trying new things. People want to try new things but there is a certain fear involved in challenging one’s self. Those fears can include safety, rejection, failure etc. Once you begin to push your comfort zone you begin to reap rewards including increased productivity, easier time dealing with change, and an increased level of creativity. You’ll feel more at ease in pushing your boundaries. Before we can begin to discuss how to step out of your comfort zone we need to take a look at what comfort zone is.

Comfort Zone as defined by the good people at Merriam Webster is the level at which one functions with ease and familiarity. Your comfort zone is not necessarily a good or bad and we need to both be in it and out of it at times. Stepping out of your comfort zone can increase your anxiety, which can produce negative results but it can also produce positive results where we learn something new or meet new people.

Let’s look at some steps to help step out of your comfort zone.

Do things differently

Routine is just that routine. Try to mix things up. There’s nothing worse than feeling like each day is like the one before. Sometimes it’s taking a different road to the office or eating in a different restaurant. Even the smallest of changes can help break up the monotony and offer you a small challenge you need to start moving in the right direction.

Take your time when making decisions

Decisions should be well thought out before proceeding. A decision thought through fully can help push you out of your comfort zone. Take your time and think things through before jumping in feet first. For more on decision making click here.

Don’t do too much at once

Don’t feel that you need to do everything at once. Take small steps. You can’t finish if you don’t start so start slow. If you take on too much at once you may find yourself extremely stressed.

Create a plan

I can’t stress enough the importance of creating a plan. This applies to anything in life but can be extremely helpful when trying to challenge yourself to try something new. Write out your plan and check your progress regularly. Also, provide a timeline if possible.

Challenge yourself

Continue to challenge your comfort zone. When you break through move on to the next thing you’d like to challenge yourself with. Look for new challenges on a regular basis. Take a new class at the gym, or attempt a hobby you’ve been meaning to try.

Always remain positive

No doubt you may encounter a negative outcome that will make you nervous or tentative about moving forward again. You have to continue to push through. Everyone experiences negative outcomes but it’s those that power through the negativity that are able to step outside their comfort zone and grow.

Trying new things and stepping out of your comfort zone is not easy but it can provide you with opportunities you never dreamed of. I’m not saying you need to become a professional bungee jumper but if you challenge yourself you might be surprised what you can do. You may even find that you like some of the things you feared the most.

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Best

SD