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I’ve been in a rut lately. Have you ever found yourself tired and bored most of the time and nothing seems to motivate you enough to get out of bed? Well, that’s me right now. I’m tired of this situation; I’m in need of some change. “Change begins when we recognize the pain of living in this stagnant, unsatisfying, and familiar zone is much worse than the discomfort of stepping outside of it, growing, and trying new things” (Itani, 2020). Change will come when we realize the discomfort of living where we currently are is more uncomfortable than the discomfort that comes from the change we must make to change our current circumstances. The following are steps we can take to get outside of our comfort zone.
“Change begins when we recognize the the pain of living in this stagnant, unsatisfying, and familiar zone is much worse than the discomfort of stepping outside of it, growing, and trying new things.”
(Itani, 2020)
- Become Aware of What’s Outside of Your Comfort Zone. To do this, get out a journal and write a list of the things you believe are worth doing but are afraid of doing due to potential disappointment, embarrassment, or failure. If what is outside of your comfort zone isn’t so clear cut, you can start by becoming aware of it by remembering the last time you felt uncomfortable and what it felt like, exactly. In other words, studying your physical manifestations of fear. For example, by remembering and paying close attention to where you felt it in your body (your chest? Stomach? Throat? Back?), you can now notice those same exact feelings whenever you are outside of your comfort zone (13 Mental Tricks To Get Yourself Out Of Your Comfort Zone, 2018) When do you feel those bodily sensations? Write that list down in a journal. We’ll reference back to this list in Step 3.
- Reframe fear into excitement. Work with the bodily sensations you feel, not against them. “Realize that there will be enormous self-doubt and insecurity, and that’s completely natural. As you continue to walk the path, you will gain experience and experience is what teaches you how to better manage those emotions” (Itani, 2020).
- Get comfortable with discomfort by making it a routinely habit to expand your comfort zone. To achieve this, challenge your comfort zone by making finding and doing the commonly unthinkable actions a daily ritual. Pick one thing from your list to do each day, once a week, once a month, or once a year. For instance, helping a random stranger could be a daily ritual, doing things like negotiating for a cup of coffee at Starbucks could be once a week, events like sky-diving or going to a concert could be once every couple of months, and learning a new skill or teaching a class could be once a year. If you stay long enough and practice often enough, it will start to become less uncomfortable. “You will be amazed at how what once scared you is now commonplace” (George, 2021).
- Educate yourself on your goal. Write down: your vision (how you aspire to be. How it is you see yourself when you complete your goal; be as specific as possible as this is what is going to guide and motivate you), your goal(s), your goal’s dated benchmarks/mini-goals, doable tasks you will do to achieve those benchmarks/mini-goals. More on setting realistic plans that you can achieve here.
- Show up. There’s tips and tricks you can follow to be able to show up every day. You hold yourself accountable to your plan by not giving yourself an out, reflecting on your motivations, giving yourself some good self-talk through positive affirmations, emulating the person who you need to be to achieve this goal, reframing fear into excitement, picturing the best and worst possible outcomes, breaking your goals down to doable tasks, and clearly visualizing your success through the plan you created in Step 4.
- Focus on the good and remain positive. In action, this could mean you surround yourself with a supportive group of people who will uplift you, cheer you on, and give you constructive criticism. To be clear, they are the most important when it comes to staying positive on the times you experience a negative outcome because experiencing a negative outcome may put you back into your shell and into your comfort zone. Yes, you’ll have negative outcomes. Recognize that. Just try not to allow negativity to take you back and into your comfort zone. It’s important to realize failure is life’s feedback on how to improve and do better.
- Focus on the Fun. Like John Lennon said, “ life is what happens when we are too busy making plans.” Don’t be so caught up with achieving your goals that you forget to enjoy life’s passing moments. It’s important to not take yourself too seriously. Laugh at yourself and your mistakes.
- Turn failure into a learning experience. This is how you will take the focus off the discomfort, too. Begin to treat failure as a teacher. What did you learn from the situation, about yourself, and the people around you? How can you take that lesson and apply it to your life? Instead of focusing on the possibility of failure, see challenges as opportunities to grow.
What about you? What are you looking forward to doing now that you are determined to get out of your comfort zone? Go ahead and leave it down in the comments!
References
13 Mental Tricks To Get Yourself Out Of Your Comfort Zone. (2018, April 17). Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2018/04/17/13-mental-tricks-to-get-yourself-out-of-your-comfort-zone/
Criglow, A. O. (2021, September 17). How to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone. Retrieved from wikiHow: https://www.wikihow.com/Step-Out-of-Your-Comfort-Zone
George, C. (2021, April 19). 10 Ways To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone And Overcome Your Fear. Retrieved from Lifehack: https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/10-ways-step-out-your-comfort-zone-and-enjoy-taking-risks.html
Itani, O. (2020, August 20). Personal Growth: How to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Fully Step Forward into Your Growth Zone: 10 Steps to Follow. Retrieved from Omar Itani: https://www.omaritani.com/blog/comfort-zone
Overcoming Fear: 10 Ways To Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. (2017, April 26). Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/04/26/overcoming-fear-10-ways-to-step-outside-your-comfort-zone/?sh=119f0f0a882d
Scott, S. J. (2022, March 8). How to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone (7 Simple Steps). Retrieved from Develop Good Habits: https://www.developgoodhabits.com/comfort-zone/
