You know what a comfort zone is and you like to stay in it.  It’s safe and you are familiar with what occurs in this space.  Sometimes you are asked to stretch yourself a little bit and go outside of your comfort zone.  When that occurs what do you do?  Do you decline or do you show your bravery and do something new?  If you decline you consciously choose to lose out on a great opportunity.  If you choose to spread your wings you have the opportunity to sour with the eagles.

I was privileged to watch a young friend spread her wings and fly!  She turned sixteen years old and is not a shy girl.  She has been on her school swim team and she participated in many activities. But she was asked to participate in a school pageant which was definitely outside her comfort zone. She spent time looking for just the right outfits, figuring out how to wear her hair, and how to answer questions about herself and her future.  Although she was a little scared and uncomfortable at first she did an excellent job and plans on participating in the next pageant.  All were very proud of her!

Moving out of your comfort zone can feel intimidating, but it’s an essential step for personal growth, development, and achieving success. Your comfort zone often represents safety, predictability, and routine, but it can also limit you in terms of experiences, opportunities, and self-discovery.

You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone. ~Roy T. Bennett

How to Move Out of Your Comfort Zone:

1. Start Small
   It doesn’t have to be a drastic change all at once. Begin with small steps. This could mean trying a new hobby, striking up a conversation with someone new, or learning a new skill. As you get used to pushing your boundaries bit by bit, it becomes easier to tackle larger challenges.
2. Set Goals
   Clearly define why you want to step out of your comfort zone. Whether it’s for career growth, improving relationships, or personal development, knowing your purpose makes it easier to stay focused and inspired. Set short-term and long-term goals that gradually push your limits.
3. Accept Discomfort
   Real growth happens when you step into discomfort. Initially, you might feel anxiety, fear, or resistance, but those feelings are signs that you are challenging yourself. Embrace discomfort as part of the learning process. Over time, the discomfort becomes familiar, and you’ll feel more confident.
4. Visualize Success
   Picture yourself succeeding in the situations that challenge you. Whether it’s giving a public speech, traveling alone, or taking on a big project, visualizing success helps reduce fear and builds confidence in your ability to handle the unknown.
5. Seek Support
   Sometimes, moving out of your comfort zone feels overwhelming, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. Surround yourself with supportive friends, mentors, or communities who can encourage and guide you through the process.
6. Reframe Failure
   Don’t see failure as a setback but as a stepping stone to success. When you push yourself beyond familiar limits, things may not always go as planned, but each experience adds to your growth and resilience.

If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. ~Thomas Jefferson

Why It’s Important:

1. Personal Growth
   Every time you challenge yourself, you grow. New experiences and stepping out of your comfort zone help you discover abilities and strengths you might not have known existed. It also encourages problem-solving and resilience.
2. Increased Confidence
   As you successfully tackle new challenges, your confidence builds. You start to trust in your ability to handle uncertainty and adapt to different situations. This confidence extends beyond the specific task, impacting other areas of life.
3. Opportunities for New Experiences
   Staying in your comfort zone can limit your exposure to new people, places, and ideas. Moving out of it opens doors to experiences you would never have had if you had stayed safe. These new experiences contribute to a fuller, richer life.
4. Overcoming Fear
   Much of the fear we experience comes from the unknown. Stepping out of your comfort zone repeatedly helps you confront and overcome these fears, teaching you that the unknown often isn’t as scary as it seems.
5. Achieving Success
   Great achievements are rarely found within the confines of comfort. Whether in your career, personal life, or creative endeavors, taking risks and embracing challenges often leads to higher rewards. Success usually comes from those who are willing to step outside their comfort zone and take bold action.
6. Building Resilience
   The more you push yourself, the more resilient you become. Life’s challenges are easier to handle when you have built up a tolerance for discomfort. Every time you take on something new, you strengthen your ability to navigate difficult situations.

Whenever you feel uncomfortable, instead of retreating back into your old comfort zone, pat yourself on the back and say, ‘I must be growing,’ and continue moving forward. ~T. Harv Eker

A More Interesting Life

In essence, moving out of your comfort zone is one of the most powerful ways to experience growth and achieve your potential. Though it might seem daunting at first, the rewards are worth the effort, allowing you to live a fuller, more fulfilled life.

Most people operate in a comfortable rut that limits their possibilities, their thinking and their achievements. If you want a more interesting life then you have to take some risks and move out of your comfort zone. If you want to be more adventurous in your thinking then you should be more adventurous in your activities. Deliberately push yourself out of your routine. Try things that you do not normally try. Do things that you have never done before. Do things that scare you. It is by trying new activities that we gain new experiences and skills. If we keep doing the same things we learn very little.

Life is a concept, like the “universe”, that expands as soon as we reach what we think is its edge. ~ Kamand Kojouri

Push Yourself Into Moving Forward

Here are some ideas for pushing yourself out of your personal comfort zone.

· Take music or dance lessons.

· Take a training seminar- it’s never too late to learn something new.

· Try scrapbooking or painting.

· Drive a different route to a familiar place- science has shown that this helps neuroplasticity.

· Perform a stand-up comedy act or share your poetry at a local open mic night.

· Talk to somebody new every day. Listen to them carefully.

If you want to succeed at a personal level then you need to continually challenge yourself. Keep trying something new.  Move out of your comfort zone. Enter the magical place that you have longed to be. How will you spread your wings and fly this year?

Nobody ever died of discomfort, yet living in the name of comfort has killed more ideas, more opportunities, more actions, and more growth than everything else combined. Comfort kills! ~ T. Harv Eker

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Summary

Article Name

Breaking Free: How to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone and Unlock Your True Potential

Description

To move out of our comfort zone we need to realize that we must grow. A comfort zone is a place of stagnation not a place of development.

Author

Terri Kozlowski

Publisher Name

Kozmic Soul Solutions LLC

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