Life is full of opportunities to step outside the comfort zone, but grabbing hold of them can be difficult.
Sometimes the problem is not being aware of reasons to do so. After all, if the feeling of comfort signifies our most basic needs are being met, why should we seek to abandon it?
In order to step outside of comfort and toward personal progress, this article examines the mental adjustments needed. To make stepping out of your comfort zone as rewarding as possible, we’ll go through some helpful tools, techniques, and examples along the way.
1. Become Aware of What’s Outside of Your Comfort Zone
What are the things that you believe are worth doing but, are afraid of doing yourself because of the potential for disappointment or failure?
2. Become Clear About What You Are Aiming to Overcome
Take the list of discomforts and go deeper. Remember, the primary emotion you are trying to overcome is fear.
How does this fear apply uniquely to each situation? Be very specific.
Are you afraid of walking up to people and introducing yourself in social situations? Why? Is it because you are insecure about the sound of your voice? Are you insecure about your look? Or, are you afraid of being ignored?
3. Get Comfortable with Discomfort
One way to get outside of your comfort zone is to literally expand it. Make it a goal to avoid running away from discomfort.
Let’s stay with the theme of meeting people in social settings. If you start feeling a little panicked when talking to someone you’ve just met, try to stay with it a little longer than you normally would before retreating to comfort. If you stay long enough and practice often enough, it will start to become less uncomfortable.