How to Overcome the Fear of Making Changes in Life

Slowly erase the boundaries of the comfort zone

It’s not easy to make changes of any kind. It just becomes easier when you start implementing them. Small steps, small achievements gradually, a higher achievement overall.

Once you get to know certain people, you get used to a place and you find comfort in everything you do, you begin to enjoy life as it is. You don’t want things to change and the more you become immersed in the things you enjoy doing, the worse it will be to make the changes that at a certain point in time become mandatory.

You start overcoming the fear of making life changes by taking action but in small steps.

“Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.” W. Clement Stone

Here are some of the most eloquent examples of high impact life changes we need to make throughout a lifetime and how to deal with them.

Situation 1 — Leaving a workplace you no longer enjoy

Even when you are in a workplace that doesn’t serve your interests anymore, there is a feeling of comfort in this. You know your colleagues, you know your daily routine and you can say you have certain control over things. This is why it’s so hard to leave and to find something that better suits your wishes, your dreams, and your financial goals.

Here are some tips! First, you need to reach a decision. Once you decide to leave, begin with small steps and remember this: don’t just file your resignation until you find a new job first!

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu

Start by registering on a jobs website and making your CV in the first week, in your spare time. Don’t rush things. Take your time to make the perfect Curriculum Vitae.

Now, it’s time for job hunting! Every day new jobs are posted, so sooner or later, you will find something. Don’t despair and stay positive! One day you will be called for an interview and if the company accepts you, half of the work is already done.

Situation 2 — Saving or ending a relationship in which you feel alone or abused

You don’t need to be abused in a relationship to know that it’s time to move on. Sometimes you just feel like the other one has changed so much that being a stranger to you is the only thing that comes into your mind.

Even though you are with this person in the house, it’s like you would be alone. Many of the people who are in this situation know deep inside themselves that the relationship is not good for their further growth in life, but they continue to stay in it because they are afraid to make a change. This is the fear of the unknown or the fear that they will remain single.

Small steps can help your relationship more than a sudden breakup. First, you can try to reignite the spark in your relationship. Surely the other one is not the only one guilty. Before breaking up, try to become the best version of yourself or the one your partner fell in love with. If this doesn’t change things for the good, it’s time to move on.

You need to talk to the person and express your true feelings. If you are wanted back, the person will try to change. If not, for your good, you will tell the person straight forward that you need space or that you want to separate. From this moment, it will be extremely hard for you both, but never forget that your wounds will heal. It just takes time.

Once you are alone, you can look at the feelings for your ex like an addiction. You can overcome this addiction by doing something else that will occupy your time, so you stop thinking about your ex all the time. Go to the gym, get out with friends. It takes time, but it will pass gradually. Small steps are necessary for you to become the person you were before.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates

Situation 3 — The need for starting a healthier lifestyle

Whether you are ill in some way or you have the wrong weight, you want to become healthier and better looking. To do something about it, you need to act. At the same time, you know this involves eating restrictions, going to the gym, and having a daily routine that will help you to make a habit out of this. Keep in mind that small steps are the key to success. Even a really lazy person can achieve results, but this person needs to take very small steps and be perseverent.

Do you want to start a healthier life? Tomorrow morning, make a few squats. The next morning, make ten squats. Maintain this number for a week. In the following week, day one, make a few pushups and ten quats. Then, make ten pushups and ten squats for the whole week. You already have two weeks of training. You already feel different. The effort was small and constant, but the effects are already big.

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier

Situation 4 — Moving to a new place or traveling far away

You are relocating because of a certain reason, like getting married, changing your job, getting a bigger house, or buying a new apartment. Moving to a new place is like starting life from a zero point. It is always a hard thing to do, no matter how used you may be to relocating.

Once you have moved, you will start getting used to being inside, and later, you will explore the surroundings. Allowing yourself to adapt to the new place, inside and then outside, gradually, is the best approach.

Don’t worry! Wherever you go, you will soon feel at home. It’s in human nature to adapt. Homo sapiens have adapted to new things for thousands of years. From cave to house, from house to skyscrapers, from skyscrapers to the International Space Station, and soon some of us may live in a home on Mars. Why should you be different? You can get used to any place and start calling it home.

“Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing it… that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer fear.” Dale Carnegie

The change should be embraced, not feared

Change is inevitable, but it’s also manageable. The only limits you have around you are the ones you have drawn yourself. It’s good to create comfort in your life, but you shouldn’t be mesmerized by your comfort. Fear is a good indicator dar there is too much comfort already. You should embrace fear, change, transformation, and new beginnings.

You shouldn’t fear to change things in your life, because life itself is constant change and transformation and without change, there is no growth. When you want to make a change, start small. The boundaries that you have drawn around your comfort zone need to be erased little by little. Take the imaginary sponge in your hand and start slowly erasing the imaginary lines that you have drawn around your comfort zone.

Whenever you fear to start something new, remember this quote:

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” Joseph Campbell