I understand why the comfort zone feels like the perfect place to be.
There isn’t a lot of stress or anxiety, and there’s almost no risk involved. Our brain enjoys it, too, because it feels safe. We aren’t in danger, and everything feels easy.
Doing uncomfortable things outside our comfort zone can create stress, anxiety, and uneasiness.
Since these feelings don’t always feel great in the moment, we often resort to what’s easiest and want to keep ourselves comfortable. For many of us, our preferred feelings are: control, routine, stability, and familiarity.
It can be challenging to shy away from these desired feelings. I get it. Who wants to feel stressed when we can choose what’s comfortable and familiar?
But hear me out; it gets easier.
Choosing to do things outside our comfort zone usually leads to doing more things outside of our comfort zone. It becomes familiar to do the unfamiliar, and we create the habit of growth.
I have learned that even small changes can significantly affect our lives.
With that said, here are five tips to slowly step outside your comfort zone.
Start Small
The pace the world is moving at today is faster than ever. You lose people’s attention in seconds, and everyone wants impressive results within days, if not hours.
There are complications to moving way too fast. First of all, it’s way too much pressure for any of us to have. It can add to the anxiety many of us are already riddled with and can quickly cause us to want to give up if things aren’t happening right away.
If you have been hanging around on my blog for a while, you know how important I believe it is to start small. When you aim at a small goal, it can be easier to maintain your motivation.
Starting small also means that you will probably be moving at a slower pace because, ultimately, the goal that you’re trying to accomplish isn’t so far away.
The key is making steady progress daily while avoiding feeling overwhelmed or burned out.
Moving slowly rather than being rushed and stressed allows us to do things the right way while building a foundation of success. As Simon Sinek once said, “Dream big, start small, but most of all, start.”
I reassure you baby steps are your best friend, and I don’t mean this lightly.
So what does it look like to start small when getting out of our comfort zones?
You can start with little things such as:
Commuting a different way to work. This small step will shake up your routine and make it so you aren’t running on autopilot daily.
Get out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off. Many of us hit the snooze so we can lay back down for a few minutes, but those minutes add up.
Challenge a habit you have. For example, let’s say you want to slowly ditch the sugar you have been putting in your coffee. If you usually enjoy three sugars, today, only use two.
Challenging the habits that keep us comfortable isn’t always easy, but it’s most often where our growth is found.
Starting small is always better than not starting at all.
Mindset tip—ask yourself: What is a small step I can take today that will challenge me to get outside my comfort zone?
Related: How To Finally Get Out Of Your Own Way
Offer Yourself Self-Compassion
Getting outside of our comfort zone can be scary. Many of us hype ourselves up and get panicked before even attempting to try something new.
I want to encourage you to treat yourself kindly when attempting something you never have before.
Outside your comfort zone is new territory; with that, you will likely have those moments where your heart is racing, and you doubt yourself. Practice trusting yourself. You can handle a lot more than you probably give yourself credit for.
Self-compassion is a great tool to alleviate some stress, and a simple strategy is to treat yourself like you would a close friend.
Schedule New and Exciting Things
Adding some newness to our calendars can help us escape the mundane nuances of everyday life. When you are purposeful with your time and choose to do things you never have, this can be a great way to escape your comfort zone.
I know from experience that the workweek can become stressful very quickly. We do our best to make it to Friday without missing work, meetings, or to-do’s that have somehow filled our already overwhelming calendar.
When we become overwhelmed, we typically don’t have enough energy to think in terms of abundance but rather turn inward towards what I like to refer to as survival mode. When you feel that way, it doesn’t provide much room for growth.
Scheduling something new can be as simple as finding a new park to visit or trying out a new fitness class. It can also be something bigger such as planning a dream vacation or investing in a beach house.
The key is to schedule new and exciting things into our calendars before we feel overwhelmed.
If we pick a new restaurant to visit and make the reservation before we feel tired, it will hold us more accountable to show up when it comes time.
Scheduled items tend to get done more than arranging for them to happen last minute.
If you are trying something new, invite others along with you, so when you try something that may scare you, you are more likely to stick with it.
Ditch The Fear-Based Mindset
Ask yourself these questions when dealing with fear:
Is what I’m thinking entirely true?
Is what I’m thinking rational?
Is what I’m thinking keeping me in a fixed mindset?
Is what I’m thinking belittling myself?
Here is what I know to be true…
Fear wears many masks and has a big mouth.
Fear may convince you that you aren’t capable because you haven’t achieved something yet, are missing a title, or perhaps never earned a degree.
The truth is, fear doesn’t do that. We do that to ourselves.
Of course, if we’ve never done something before, we may think that we aren’t ready, this is human nature, but we only learn by doing.
When your mind tries to tell you information that isn’t serving you a greater purpose, try to remember it’s just a thought. Just because you think something doesn’t mean you need to give it validation.
Know You Are Worthy Of Big Things
Accomplishing big scary things outside your comfort zone requires you to know that you are worthy of achieving them.
Spend some time looking in the mirror and appreciating yourself. Here are some of my best tips how you can learn to believe in yourself.
When you spend time creating this habit, your self-worth increases, and when you know you are worthy of opportunity and success, you are more likely to make things happen for yourself.
As Oscar Wilde once said, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
Are you worthy of that big scary promotion? Absolutely.
Are you worthy of a healthy relationship that supports you even though other relationships have failed? Of course—we all are.
Are you worthy of taking that dream vacation you have been thinking about for years? Yes, make it happen!
You are worthy of abundance and attaining big things in your life.
Now go chase after that thing that gets your heart racing and get way outside your comfort zone because that’s when the magic happens.
Looking for a little more inspiration? Grab my FREE mini ebook below and come be part of my community 🙂
Other reads you may enjoy:
Seven Habits To Skyrocket Your Success Like A Boss
How To Accomplish Your Goals When You Don’t Know Where To Start
These 5 Affirmations Are Proven to Change Your Life
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