SHORT READS
What Does Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone Look Like?
I like to say that my life began at the Chicago O’Hare airport.
December 2018
Stepping out of my comfort zone looked like walking out of an airport. Just a few days before Christmas, I decided to move out. It took awhile to convince my family, but I finally did it.
After a year of saving, planning, and dreaming; I finally was doing the thing I spent years planning. I knew I was stepping out of my comfort zone because I felt it everywhere.
My heart was pumping so fast, I thought it wanted to walk out of my chest. I felt this warm buzzing throughout my body. My mind was exploding in a thousand different directions, but the one thing I wanted to do was see the love of my life.
I wanted to embrace him and never let him go. We spent two years long distance and just like that, the distance was broken.
In December of 2018, I broke the distance with the love of my life. My family and closest friends thought I was insane.
They thought I was crazy for wanting to move across the country for a man I’d only seen three times in person. They told me how ridiculous it sounded, and they tried to talk me out of it many times.
My family and friends said, —
What if you break up?
What if something happens and you don’t have anyone except him to rely on?
What if your relationship fails?
What if everything fails?
The Truth
The truth is that stepping out of my comfort zone was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I had to overcome personal fear and anxiety.
I had to be brave enough to fight for what I wanted despite what everyone was saying. I had to be strong enough to fight for my dreams and believe in myself even when everyone else didn’t.
There were many times when I almost backed out. I almost didn’t break the distance and I almost lost the love of my life due to fear.
There was one question that tormented me the most when I doubted everything.
It was, —
What if you succeed?
Admittedly my family and friends didn’t help at all. They didn’t know my partner like I did. They didn’t know me enough to know what I truly wanted out of life.
They didn’t know what would make me happy. During this time, I realized that telling people your goals and dreams isn’t always a good thing.
People can only support and encourage you based on their level of understanding. In my case, no one in my family had ever found love online and they never lived anywhere outside of Los Angeles.
So when I decided to do all of those things, of course they were scared. They didn’t know what would happen and they were afraid.
As much as their doubts and worries scared me, it didn’t stop me from doing it. In the middle of stepping out of my comfort zone, I cried a lot.
I pushed myself in ways that I’d never done before. To step out of my comfort zone, I had to be honest about everything I wanted.
I took an honest look at the reality of my behavior, mindset, and habits and decided to question everything and challenge myself to change.
I woke up and chose to work hard for the life I really wanted because if I stayed afraid, I would’ve stayed in the same shitty town wishing for a better life like everyone else.
The short answer is this, —
Stepping out of your comfort zone looks like a lot of things. It looks like panic attacks, excitement, anxiety, exhaustion, and confusion all bundled into one.
You’ll know when your stepping out of your comfort zone because you’ll be in the process of translating a new experience. The difference is action.
You’ll be in the process of doing something you’ve never thought you’d actually do. I hope this gives you the courage to step out of comfort zone.
When you step out, know that you’re not alone. If you’re someone in need of inspiration, encouragement, or advice, my door is always open.
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