ABANDON YOUR COMFORT ZONE

One of the major ways by which we grow is to step outside our comfort zone, take risks and try something new. Unfortunately, a lot of us are afraid to take that step and never leave their safety zone.

Most people believe that comfort zones are about comfort, but reality is that comfort zones are mostly about fear. Comfort zones prevent us from getting what we want out of life because we are reluctant to change our habits and routines and want to minimize stress that comes with breaking our routine.

However, if we can learn to break through our comfort zone and enjoy the process of doing something different, taking a risk and growing in the process, we give ourselves a chance to add a major spark to our day, which makes us come alive and we can re-ignite our curiosity about life and the world.

So how can we step past the fear and abandon our comfort zone? Here are our TOP 10 tips and tricks to push the boundaries of our comfort zone.

#1 Face Your Fears
We all have at least one fear, but if we don’t face that fear, it tends to go quiet. While it won’t disappear, it will go dormant because we don’t push ourselves to face it. Take some time to dig deep and figure out what you are afraid of. Find that fear that is holding you back to reach your goals and dreams and living up to your full potential. Once you’ve identified your fear, give yourself a timeframe — like three to four months — to tackle it and overcome it. And once you have achieved that, celebrate your victory of improving yourself.

#2 Do Something that Scares You Every Single Day
It is incredibly powerful to do something that scares you every single day. It doesn’t have to be big, but take the time to make a list at the beginning of the week with things that scare you and that you want to tackle. Challenge yourself, make it fun and see what good things will come your way. This will open you up to a plethora of new opportunities, new connections, new victories and new beginnings.

#3 Take Baby Steps
Leaving your comfort zone takes a lot of courage, but keep in mind, you will get the same magical benefits, whether you jump out of your comfort zone with both feet at once or if you start slow and do it one baby step at a time. Give yourself the chance to succeed in leaving your comfort zone and don’t put yourself under so much stress and pressure that you will be paralyzed to take even the smallest step forward. Take it slow, because even the smallest step is a step forward in the right direction.

#4 Don’t Take Yourself too Seriously
We are afraid to leave our comfort zone because we are afraid of making a mistake and risking failure. Don’t take yourself too seriously, we all make mistakes and the only way we can actually learn something is to take a risk, make our mistakes and learn and grow from them. Learn to laugh at yourself, because failure is an inevitable part of life. Yes, you may sometimes embarrass yourself or look like a fool, but learn to roll with the punches and laugh with others about what happened and move on.

#5 Become Aware of What’s Outside Your Comfort Zone
If you don’t see the benefits of stepping outside your comfort zone, there is no reason for you to actually do it. Take a good hard look at all the things you can achieve when you leave your comfort zone and once you know that there are things that are worth taking a risk for and overcoming your fear of potential failure and disappointment, you will find the strength to take the leap of faith.

#6 Get Comfortable with Discomfort
It is in our human nature to avoid discomfort at all cost, but if you can learn to get comfortable with discomfort you will prepare yourself for taking the leap out of your comfort zone. If you suffer from social anxiety for example and you are at a party and feel completely uncomfortable, rather than running away when someone approaches you, embrace the discomfort and talk to a stranger, stay a little bit longer before retreating and push yourself to practice being uncomfortable. The longer and more often you do it, the less uncomfortable a social situation will become until you are completely comfortable. The same goes for every other situation that makes you uncomfortable. Force yourself to stick it out and learn to get comfortable with discomfort.

#7 Surround Yourself with Risk Takers
This is an essential step in being able to push the boundaries of your comfort zone and be able to abandon it. Surround yourself with people who are taking risks and step outside their comfort zone, because if you are surrounded by people who are doing exactly what you want to do, their behavior will rub off on you and you will eventually start to emulate them. Keep in mind, the influence of the people around you — whether good or bad — does have a profound effect on your behavior, so make sure that you surround yourself with the right people.

#8 Coach Yourself
It is always a great idea to work with a coach or mentor to help you work through certain fears and anxieties, but you don’t have to rely on other people if you can learn how to coach yourself. Ask yourself the same questions a coach would ask you like ‘What is the worst thing that could happen if I take the risk?’ or ‘What is the best thing that could happen if I take the risk?’ And then look at the potential outcomes. Chances are that making a mistake is not the end of the world and actually succeeding will improve your life in unimaginable ways. So take the risk and step outside your comfort zone. Remember, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward will be.

#9 Visualize Success
A lot of times, when people are faced with stepping outside of their comfort zone, they only think about all the things that could go wrong, all the mistakes they could potentially make and all the obstacles that will come their way. Instead of focusing on the negative, close your eyes and vividly visualize success. What will your life look like when you take a risk and succeed? How will it feel like, what are you doing, what people are involved in your success? Create a vivid image of powerful success every time fear starts to come up when you are about to leave your safe zone.

#10 Be Honest
When you are stepping outside your comfort zone and fear creeps in, don’t say things like ‘I’m too busy right now’, but be honest and admit to your fears. This way you put yourself in the right position to confront your fears and learn to overcome them rather than making excuses that don’t get you anywhere. Be honest with yourself and give yourself the chance to meet your fears head on so you can work through them and move forward.

As human beings we are creatures of habit and comfort. However, if we get too comfortable in our comfort zone, we hold ourselves back and it is essential to challenge ourselves in new ways and try new things to learn, grow and progress. If we can learn to be comfortable with being slightly uncomfortable by abandoning our comfort zone, we are much better equipped to perform at our peak, become more creative, learn how to deal with unexpected changes and push our boundaries in the future.

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE AND INTO GREATNESS
Joschi & Monika
#BoldNaked

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