Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone – 10 Strategies To Embrace
Want to begin stepping out of your comfort zone? Here are 10 strategies to help you step outside the comfort zone today.
Let’s chat about stepping out of your comfort zone.
Humans love to be comfortable. It’s one of our strongest urges. Unfortunately, the desire to be comfortable can be a prison if you refuse to ever leave your comfort zone.
NEWS ALERT: It’s super hard to grow and flourish if your primary objective is comfort.
Escaping your comfort zone is important if you want to have an exciting and fulfilling life.
Consider using these strategies to move beyond your comfort zone and create a meaningful life:
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 1 – Start by making a list of the things that make you uncomfortable.
What exactly makes you uncomfortable?
Is it crowds?
Playing your guitar for others?
Writing a short story and posting it online?
Dating?
Parties?
Speaking to new people?
What exactly are you so scared to embrace?
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 2 – Learn to soothe yourself.
Some people are naturally better at this than others, but anyone can strengthen their ability to calm themselves down.
A simple, but effective way of doing this:
Focus on the part of your body where you feel discomfort.
This is most commonly in the head, chest, or stomach area.
Put your full attention on the discomfort.
Breathe fully and relax that part of your body.
You might even imagine a bubble coming out of that area that permits the discomfort to be released, like oil from a well.
Practice this skill throughout the day.
Sitting in traffic and feeling annoyed?
Use the technique.
Nervous about a test or meeting?
Use this same technique to help soothe yourself.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 3 – Go to places that make you uncomfortable.
Extract the items from the list you made above that are places.
Maybe the mall is one of them, if you feel particularly anxious about large, open spaces.
If a mall is on your list, go to the mall and sit there.
Rate your level of discomfort on a scale from 1 to 10.
Use your soothing technique and rate your anxiety again.
Move around the mall and repeat the process.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 4 – Do things that make you uncomfortable.
Pick some other things from your list.
Perhaps concerts make you uncomfortable, or crowds in general.
Maybe playing tennis at the park in front of other people is uncomfortable.
Maybe you hate parties.
These are all additional places to practice.
If you are frightened of public speaking, which is one of the most common fears, fear the fear and do it anyway.
As they say FEAR IS A ONE SIDED FENCE and everything you dream of is on the other side of fear.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 5 – Read things that make you uncomfortable.
If you’re a die-hard liberal, read a book by your least favorite conservative member.
If you’re an atheist, read a book by someone who is super religious.
Are you afraid of death?
Read a book by someone in the process of dying from a terminal disease.
Please note: THESE BOOKS MAY BE CONFRONTING!
They will take you outside your comfort zone.
Use your soothing technique whenever you feel uncomfortable.
Finish the entire book!
Learn to understand that people in this world will have different thoughts, feelings and opinions.
You don’t have to agree.
Agree to disagree.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 6 – Watch TV shows and movies that make you uncomfortable.
Some people hate movies about corrupt politicians or police officers.
Others dislike movies with nudity.
Maybe you’re not a fan of romantic comedies.
Perhaps you dislike political talk shows.
Make yourself watch what makes you uncomfortable and practice calming yourself down.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 7 – Create an alter-ego.
You have a work personality, a home personality, and an “out with the guys or gals” personality.
You have multiple personas to most effectively deal with the different parts of your life.
This is a particularly great technique to embrace with you need to feel more courageous or fearless in life.
Create an alter ego specifically for dealing with discomfort.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 8 – Allow yourself to be physically uncomfortable.
Allow yourself to be hot, cold, or tired and temporarily deal with that physical discomfort.
It’s only a temporary negative emotion that you can most definitely cope with for short periods of time.
The best piece of advice someone has ever given me was ‘do it scared.’
And no matter if you’re scared, just go ahead and do it anyway because you might as well do it scared, so it will get done and you will feel so much better if you step out of your comfort zone. – Sherri Shepherd
Stepping outside your comfort zone is supposed to feel uncomfortable because we’re in new and unfamiliar territory. Being uncomfortable is a sign of success, NOT of failure! So if we are uncomfortably outside our comfort zones, then than means we are growing!!! And THAT is cause for celebration! – Roz Savage
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 9 – Read inspiring books.
One way to blast through your discomfort is to be inspired by others.
It can be a short-lived feeling, but a single success can start to convince your brain that there’s no reason to be uncomfortable.
STEPPING OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
TIP # 10 – Plan an adventure.
Do something big that makes you uncomfortable.
It should also be something that interests you. Your interest can help you to move past the discomfort.
If you’re always comfortable, you’re not getting the most out of your life.
In the end, comfort is the enemy of progress, freedom, and adventure.
Learn to deal with being uncomfortable.
Turn the uncomfortable into the comfortable.
Learn to escape your comfort zone and have a life free of regrets.
Do one thing every day that scares you. – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The only thing that is stopping you from where you are to where you want to go is your comfort zone. – Dhaval Gaudier
Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. – Brian Tracy
Before anything great is really achieved, your comfort zone must be disturbed. – Ray Lewis
I will guarantee you that the day you step outside your comfort zone by making success your goal is the day you discover that adversity, risk, and daring will make life sweeter than you ever imagined. – Mark Burnett
Until next time, dream big my friend,
Frances xx
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.