For those of you who are like me, you love spending time in a comfortably safe bubble you created for yourself.
Is your personal space. It’s about not taking chances. It’s about not feeling ashamed. It’s about not engaging in new emotions.
Even though it feels comfortable in that bubble, it doesn’t feel comfortable for you to stay in it. You know you shouldn’t. And you’re right.
As uncomfortable as it is to leave your comfort zone, it gets harder and harder over time to do so.
Stepping outside your comfort zone: how can you do it?
How exactly does it feel to step outside your comfort zone?
Finally, what are your reasons for doing it?
Here is where I will begin.
Contents
Stepping outside of your comfort zone – meaning.
Taking a step out of your comfort zone is when you perform an action that you don’t feel comfortable with performing. It could be anything from speaking in front of a crowd to flying on a plane or conversing with a stranger.
Why should you step outside your comfort zone?
Keeping yourself on your toes is not what you are made for, so you need to push yourself with new challenges all the time.
Challenge yourself, get out there, and do something that pushes your limits makes you grow. We grow on a psychological and emotional level. It’s too easy to stay where we are and if something scary feels like too much to do, you’ve just met an opportunity to grow.
The challenges of life won’t go away, and you need to prepare yourself to overcome them. Life is not meant to be lived on the couch only.
Your life will improve as you become more comfortable with what makes you uncomfortable.
A life of meaning and happiness requires challenging yourself, reevaluating your status quo, and learning from your mistakes.
Stepping outside of your comfort zone: 7 ways to do it
1. You need to stop mind-reading.
A lot of shy people fear new things, people, and events in their lives. If you have the same issue, you’re probably not alone.
A mind reader is someone who believes they know what other people think about them.
You have that feeling when you enter a coffee shop and before you can order your coffee, you think the employee on the other end of the line notices your greasy hair, thinks you “should’ve put some makeup on” or is ready to “get rid of your presence”.
Even though the last thing might be true to some extent, it still has nothing to do with you (it most likely has to do with them not liking working there or they have lunch break shortly).
Having the ability to read minds is assuming you know what people think of you, and acting accordingly makes it even easier.
It’s not possible for you to know what’s going on inside their mind or how they feel about you at that moment, in reality.
Nevertheless, mind-reading can ruin your self-confidence and prevent you from taking risks.
2. You and Your Self-Doubts
Obviously, this is why you think you know what other people think of you, which is why self-doubt is so central to staying within your comfort zone.
Having doubts about your ability to handle a situation is so common that most of us run into it several times a week.
When you talk to a stranger or stand in front of a crowd, you are likely to have self-doubt.
When I have to speak to more than three people at once, even my family members, I get nervous and blush. Isn’t it weird and irrational?
However, these are things with which you can and should work. Self doubt is simply a feeling to which you cannot be certain because you did not put it to test.
Making the first step on the path of your life, no matter how scary, builds the confidence you need. After all, it is only by taking the first step that you will see success.
3. Constantly focusing on the past
Having your mind stuck on your past is a terrible luxury. You think and re-think. You remember and re-remember. You breathe through events you thought would be fine but ended up a disaster.
You lose even more self-confidence, suffer further self-doubt, and the bubble around you gets even tighter.
There is no need for you to forget your past. Rather, if you feel like you cheat yourself by forgetting it, just write it down in your journal tonight. Leave it there. And then breathe in the new, fresh air of the present. Your confidence and sense of relief will lift your chin up as you welcome the new day.
4. How relevant will it be in a year’s time?
When measuring how big a challenge is, you should ask yourself if it matters in a week, month, or year.
It may not matter if you do it, but it will matter if you don’t, because stepping outside of your comfort zone will matter whether you do it now or in the future.
In fact, the real challenge is not what you face. It’s about the idea of facing it.
5. Can anything get worse?
If you are looking for advice about an important conversation to have in person instead of over the phone, then this question does not fit within any health-related or life-related situation.
What could possibly go wrong?
Would the new guy laugh at you? Would the girl refuse to go on a date with you? Would your boss disagree with you? Would the person you have a conversation with not understand your perspective?
Go over the scenarios and think of various ways you would respond in each situation.
And then go for it.
6. People who are comfortable stepping outside of their comfort zones are the ones to surround yourself with.
Nowadays, it’s harder to be brave than ever. But being surrounded by brave people will increase your chances of being brave. They will inspire you, encourage you, and guide you.
Build your own support group of people who do what you want to do. Soak up their energy and emulate their bravery.
7. It’s simple. Just do it.
This might be another example of “easier said than done,” but is there really another option?
Simply doing it means to be afraid, doubting it, frightened of it, fearing it, stressing about it, hating it, and still doing it anyway.
The best way to break out of a comfort zone is to step out of it, fast and no matter what.
The final thoughts on stepping outside of your comfort zone
The biggest obstacle one faces in life is themselves. I am my biggest challenge. You are yours. Putting oneself out into the big world isn’t always easy, and social media, the internet, and family don’t always help.
It’s not a good enough reason for us to stay in our bubbles. Life happens right now; if we don’t live it fully, one day we’ll only regret not taking more risks, not speaking up.
I hate to sound cliché, but I’d rather be disappointed at failing at something than failing to attempt it.
How about you?