4 Things In Life That Can Help You Leap Outside Your Comfort Zone
It starts with a gentle push from someone…
What goes through your mind even if you think about stepping a tiny bit outside your comfort zone?
Some of you might love it. In your mind, you’ve already built up a great picture of what it would look like if you did.
For others, you’ve probably already thought about a thousand different reasons why you shouldn’t.
Over the last few years, I’ve tried different things. Either because I wanted to or the situation took me outside my comfort zone.
Because of this, amazing opportunities have come my way. From writing to creating audiobooks and starting my doctorate training in clinical psychology.
With the start of the new year, having new opportunities could be what you need to kickstart your 2022. And, one of the best ways to do this is to learn how to step outside your comfort zone.
1. Have Someone Give You A Gentle Push
Not literally.
We can talk ourselves out of a situation in seconds.
You could have a brilliant plan but you automatically start to list the dangers of why you shouldn’t do it.
In these situations, you tend not to have anyone there to help you look at the positives. Instead, you might focus on the negatives due to our negativity bias.
Without weighing up the new opportunity properly you’re not going to want to step out of your comfort zone.
The reality is, you could be stopping yourself from exploring so many new things and growing as a person.
Instead, if you have the chance to step outside of your comfort zone, run it by someone else who can help you to do it.
For example, I wanted to start writing and share my knowledge and experiences with others. But this terrified me completely and I immediately said to myself there is too much to risk.
If it wasn’t for my other half, who told me why I should do it, I wouldn't have started to write.
And in hindsight, I’m extremely glad I did. I’ve networked with so many people, produced two audiobooks and had freelance work. It’s given me a knock-on effect to be brave in stepping outside of my comfort zone in other parts of my life.
My recommendation is to take the new situation to someone close to you. They can help give you a small push to pursue the new opportunity.
That small push could be enough to get you outside your comfort zone and explore new things.
2. Do Small Things Differently Every Day
You need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
That way it’s easier to embrace a new situation when it’s presented to you.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to take everyday situations and make them different.
It could be opening doors with your non-dominant hand. It could be eating breakfast before you start your work (if you don’t normally do this). It could be doing a 10-minute meditation exercise in the evening before bed.
The idea is you’re breaking up your comfortable routine.
You’re placing yourself into very small uncomfortable situations. So, when you have the chance to step out of your comfort zone, you’ll want to do it.
It can help reduce the excuses you make that stop you from stepping out of your comfort zone.
That’s because you become accustomed to doing things differently. And that’s what stepping outside your comfort zone is about.
3. Identify The Thoughts Behind The Uncertainty
Why don’t you want to step out of your comfort zone?
Is it because it’s scary? Does it make you stressed? Do you feel anxious about it?
It could be a big fat yes to all those questions. But, what’s actually driving those feelings?
Often it’s our thoughts that create those feelings rather than the situation itself.
Two people, presented with the same situation may have different reactions because of the way they perceive the situation.
If two people have the opportunity to skydive (which is the situation), one person’s thoughts might be “This is fantastic. I’ll be able to see everything. It’s going to be a thrill.”
Another person, in the same situation, may think “Hell no. What if the parachute doesn’t open? What if I spin out of control?”
Of course, these two people will have different reactions in wanting to try something new and skydive.
Often these thoughts go unnoticed and we simply pay attention to how we feel which drives us away from the new situation.
Instead, take a moment and ask yourself, what am I thinking at this moment?
Once identified, you can then change your view. Use a family member or close friend to help too.
Stepping outside your comfort zone becomes easier. That’s because you can develop realistic thoughts of what might actually happen if you do.
4. Increase The Belief In Your Ability
If you genuinely believe you can do something, the chances of actually doing it are far greater. This is known as our self-efficacy.
Sometimes we’re afraid to step out of our comfort zone because we tell ourselves we can’t do something. We limit the belief we have in our ability.
Taking that leap is uncomfortable. It’s new, risky and there can be a lot of uncertainty about what is to come. Of course, it will be natural to think we don’t have the ability to do it because we might have never done it before.
Something so beneficial is to increase your belief in yourself.
Don’t just tell yourself you can do it — actually work to boost your belief in your ability.
One way to do this is to observe others doing things out of their comfort zone. It’s even better if the thing you watch them doing is what you want to do.
A recent research study in June 2021 found adolescent athletes self-efficacy increased significantly when they modelled their role models. When you observe someone else doing it, it makes it seem more attainable. This makes it more likely you’ll step out of your comfort zone.
Also, don’t forget the times when you have successfully stepped out of your comfort zone.
A study published in 2016 found the greatest variable that increased teachers’ self-efficacy was ‘mastery experiences’. Mastery experiences are the experiences we get from being successful at a new challenge or task. The more success we have, the more our self-efficacy becomes stronger.
The reality is, stepping out of our comfort zone feels risky. But, it’s easier if we believe we have the capacity to do it.
Final Thoughts
There are so many opportunities and new experiences around us.
This enables us to grow, try different things and find something we may enjoy so much.
However, taking the leap outside of our comfort zone can be daunting. We often see it as too risky. But, thinking in this way deprives us of so many new things and most importantly, growth.
So, keep these four things in mind to help you step outside of your comfort zone:
Have someone give you a gentle push.
Do small things every day differently.
Look at the thoughts that create uncertainty.
Increase your self-efficacy.
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