How To Ensure You’re Living Outside Your Comfort Zone

Not all comfort zones are the same.

I could write down 10 things that don’t scare me.

Yet, someone else may look at that same list and shit their pants.

A comfort zone is relative.

Relative to the person occupying the zone.

I have a friend who does skydiving as a hobby. He regularly flings himself out of planes without a moment’s thought.

Simply the thought of doing this is enough to send shivers down my spine. Skydiving is way outside of my comfort zone. I would need a big push to be able to do it!

If you want to live outside of your comfort zone, you have to find out what occupies your zone.

Maybe, you’re averse to taking chances. Maybe you’re scared of traveling alone.

Write down 10 things that scare you and aim to tick them off the list within a month.

Once you write down what’s in your comfort zone, those items will become less frightening. They will lose their hold over you.

Escaping your comfort zone

I was rooted to my comfort zone you five years ago.

I had recently graduated university and badly wanted to travel to Australia for a year.

The problem?

I was scared.

Petrified.

I was terrified of travelling alone!

The fear overwhelmed me. Eventually, I found a boring job in a betting shop and fell ever deeper into my comfort zone.

It took a big hit to shake me out of that zone.

Getting hit by a car to be precise!

I was hit by a car as I cycled home from work. I was very lucky to hit the side of the car instead of being hit head on.

A few seconds earlier and the result might have been drastically different.

After realising just how lucky I was to walk away with no serious injuries, I knew something had to change.

I couldn’t carry on like this. I had to take a chance and follow my heart.

A few months after this incident, I packed my bags and travelled to Australia by myself.

I was still scared, but, deep down, I knew I was making the right choice.

5 years later, I have lived in three different countries. Travelled to various other countries, and met some amazing people from across the globe.

If I hadn’t made the conscious decision to leave my comfort zone, I might still be stuck there now.

Life is short

It’s short.

Really, really short.

Too short, to have any regrets. If you spend too long in your comfort zone, you will have regrets.

You need to break free of the shackles and escape from your comfort zone. Take baby steps at first, if needs be.

Do the thing that scares you the least on your list first. Then, slowly go through the list until your done.

Don’t stop there. Rinse and repeat. Create a new list and keep going!

You’ll find the things that once scared you, aren’t that scary.

Your comfort zone is your evolutionary defence mechanism kicking-in. The world is nowhere near as scary as it was 10,000 years ago. Take a risk!

This quote has always stuck with me when I find myself slipping back into my comfort zone. Reading it again, jolts me back into action every time.

“A ship in a harbour is safe, but that’s not what it was built for.”

Sail the high seas, don’t stay anchored in your comfort zone!

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +388,268 people.

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