You've probably heard about the importance of "getting out of your comfort zone"? This concept that has been very trendy in the personal development field?
So you may already know that challenging yourself and experiencing the unknown would bring more magic into your life.
But even if the idea is appealing on paper, stepping out of your comfort zone is not a challenge that we spontaneously set for ourselves on a daily basis, especially when we are in a comfortable life bubble.
What Is the Comfort Zone?
A comfort zone is a set of habits in which we feel good, but which no longer allow us to surpass ourselves.
It is a psychological concept, an environment of routines and known elements in which the individual evolves daily and feels safe. Here, everything seems reassuring, we are in a zone of control.
We all have our own individual comfort zone. It depends on our primary needs, needs of survival, and security. This security can be material, financial, emotional, and linked to our environment. Our brain is constantly looking for this feeling of security, even if it is not really fulfilling in an objective way. Hence its reassuring aspect!
We understand that it is more a mind trick than a reality.
To leave your comfort zone is to be an actor in your life. To stay there is to be a spectator.
The comfort zone is indeed an imaginary and conceptual space that is not really conducive to evolution, that does not really open to opportunities and even less to change.
However, it is a very important stage: it is a source of motivation, learning, and personal growth among others. But you still have to be able to step out of it!
Why Step Out of Your Comfort Zone?
Si tu es confortable dans ta vie, peut-être ne vois-tu pas de raison de repousser tes limites.
If you're comfortable in your life, you may not see any reason to push your boundaries.
Yet, when you decide to set new goals, you unleash your creativity and open yourself up to a richer, more fulfilling life. By leaving your comfort zone from time to time, you also allow it to expand.
It also allows you to learn to deal with your fears, defeat, and shame.
By trying new things, you gain confidence, live your life to the fullest, become persistent and positive!
Why Is It So Difficult Sometimes?
Our unconscious hates what it does not control!
And to feel safe, our nervous system uses reference values from our past experiences, which allows it to understand and feel the situation.
When we project ourselves into an unknown situation, the unconscious mind has no reference, and therefore nothing to control. The unknown will thus be perceived as a potential danger. And who says danger, says installation of a whole heap of mechanisms to avoid confronting it.
Fear, flight, doubt, negative representations... the brain uses all these means to make you back away.
And then there is the fear of failure, the fear of being wrong. A limiting thought that is extremely confining and whose purpose is to protect us, but at what cost?
This is where the capital importance of self-esteem appears in order to step out of our comfort zone. Feeling up to the task will allow you to face the fear of failure.
How Do You Get Out of Your Comfort Zone?
-
Identify Your Comfort
The first step is to identify your comfort zone.
How do you step out of your comfort zone if you don't know it?
Here's how to do it:
-
List all the recurring elements that limit your risk-taking in life, as well as the non-productive moments you may have.
-
Ask someone who knows you well to help you identify those habits that no longer serve you well. This person can also help you identify your limiting beliefs.
-
Once you've identified them, arm yourself with confidence. This is what will give you the energy and the mental strength to fly out of your comfort zone.
-
Doing Things Alone
To begin and acquire this confidence, you can already set yourself to do things by yourself, alone: go to a restaurant alone, go for a walk alone, go on a trip alone, do activities alone, etc...
-
Saying Yes Without Thinking
Dare to say yes, without taking a second to think about it.
The goal here is not to listen to your anxieties and to disrupt your life habits!
This will bring more flavor to your daily life, more rhythm, and especially lead to many new opportunities.
So of course, don't turn your whole life upside down at once, you have to go step by step!
-
Go Gradually
If you are hesitating between different challenges to get you out of your comfort zone, I advise you to first choose the smaller one and then observe what happens before taking a bigger step.
Evolution is a dynamic, a movement. We want to go from point A to point B.
But be careful to evaluate the distance! You don't want to end up like Icarus and burn your wings trying to go too high, right? Going too far means taking the risk of scaring yourself and not being able to find the strength and courage to go back afterwards.
So listen to your feelings. You can push your limits, but be 100% honest with yourself.
Dare, but dose!
Some Ideas for Challenges to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone:
-
Wake up at 5:45 am every morning and complete your personal development ritual
-
Join a running group
-
Pick up trash in a public place
-
Put yourself in the shoes of a blind person for ½ day
-
Don't complain for 21 days
-
Participate in an online program to eat more consciously
-
Don't spend anything for a week
-
Meditate for 10 minutes every day for 30 days
-
Try intermittent fasting for a week
-
Go away by yourself for a weekend
-
Get a tattoo
-
Take an acting class
-
Not drinking alcohol for a month
-
Play tourist in your own town
-
Treat yourself to a hypnosis session
-
Give up refined sugar for good
-
Stop following the news
-
Read 30 books in 30 days
-
Hosting strangers in your home
-
Organize a conference with over 100 participants
-
Go on a 3-day juice detox
-
Distribute meals to the homeless
-
Create a personal development game
-
Sort out your contacts
-
Sign up for your first Marathon
-
Attend a yoga class
-
Try stand-up work...
So, it doesn't sound so hard, does it?
What challenges are you going to set for yourself in the next few days to step out of your comfort zone?
