Everyone has their own view on “comfort zone.” For some, it might be hanging with friends, being alone, having a routine, etc. Everyone feels comfortable in some situations while uncomfortable in others. One person’s comfort zone might be going out with friends, while another person’s comfort zone could be staying at home alone watching a movie. No matter what your own personal comfort zone looks like it is important to sometimes go out of that comfort zone. Going out of your comfort zone can make you feel happy, excited, or even scared which is okay too and totally normal. But once you learn how to get out of your comfort zone, you will experience so much more. It is easier said than done to do this. I myself have struggled with getting out of my comfort zone. But once I did I felt amazing and I felt like I could do anything. Here is some of my advice to start getting out of your comfort zone.
Start Slow
When you feel ready to try and go outside of your comfort zone, you do not have to do something drastic. It is always good to start with something small and then progress on it every day. Do it step by step and it will start to feel natural.
Surround Yourself With Friends
If you have a friend around you to help and go through it with you, going out of your comfort zone will be made easier and push you to actually do it. Find a friend who wants to do the same thing you do and start doing it together. For example, if you want to start exercising, find a friend who also wants to do that and do it together. This will not only push you to actually do it but also ease your mind off of the scariness of doing it alone. Having a friend or multiple friends around you when you are doing something you would not normally do can help boost your confidence so much. They will encourage you and always be the ones cheering you on.
Acknowledge Your Fear
Everyone is afraid at some point to go outside their comfort zone. Once you feel that fear, think of why you do. Most of the time, the reason why you are scared to do things is because of the response you will get. If you actually sit and think about these responses of what people may think of you, then you will realize that it’s all just your anxiety, and people probably will not actually think or care about the things that you think they will. For example, going to the gym. For me, this was something I wanted to start doing for a while but I was nervous about what people would think. Would they question what I was wearing? Or how my form looks while doing an exercise? These were all things that prevented me from starting to go to a gym. But once I actually went into the gym and put on my favorite music I realized all of those made-up scenarios that I created in my head were not true and were not actually going to happen.
Reward Yourself For Doing Uncomfortable Things
One thing that motivates everybody to do things is the reward. Everything you do in life will have a reward, including going outside your comfort zone. So make there be a physical reward. Whether it’s going and getting a coffee or buying yourself something. Reward yourself for going outside of your comfort zone and this will push you to do it even more.
Overall, going outside of your comfort zone is definitely scary and a challenge. But that’s a good thing. When you do just one thing to go outside your comfort zone and you succeed (I know you will!) you will want to keep doing it more and more. Your mind, thoughts, feelings, confidence, and more will grow the more you push yourself out of your comfort zone.