7 Steps For Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone?

Before we get to these seven steps to getting out of your comfort zone, let’s define the term “comfort zone” and how this concept can hold back many people: “A comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and (perceive they are) in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress.”
It’s really easy to fall into the trap of never pushing your comfort zone. The problem with this is it often prevents you from true success and happiness in life. That’s because one of the best ways to grow is to test the limits of what most people consider “normal” to live the life you want.

7 Steps to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

• Step 1 - Get Information

Anxiety usually comes from a fear of the unknown. Usually we imagine the worst-case scenario of what could happen when we push past the boundaries of what makes us feel safe. To break through your comfort zone, you need to first educate yourself. Your goal here is to find out about whatever skill or activity you’re pursuing. You’ll talk to people who have done the same thing. You’ll read books on the subject. And you’ll check-out articles on the Internet about this subject.
Information is power. And the more you know about something, the less scary and more powerful you’ll feel.

• Step 2 - Have A Plan

After educating yourself, you want to create a plan of action for pushing the boundaries on what you think is possible. With this step you’re going to write down a step-by-step blueprint for how you’re going to get out of your comfort zone. You start with the easiest thing to do. Then you create a plan to get to each level.

• Step 3 - Hold Yourself Accountable

Accountability is another key to breaking through your comfort zone. You want to tell your friends and family about what you’re trying to do. This is an important step because the people in your life will keep you on track. You want them to give you that ‘push’ as you’re pushing your boundaries.

• Step 4 - Take Baby Steps

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”- Lao Tzu
Breaking out of your comfort zone starts with the first step. Once you have a plan in place you’ll simply start with that crucial initial action. Taking “baby steps” is a great way to de-sensitize yourself to the feelings of anxiety. You’re not trying to become an overnight success. Instead you’re steadily pushing the boundaries of your comfort levels and working towards an overall goal.

• Step 5 - Aggressively Challenge Your Comfort Zone

To really blast through your comfort zone, you would do what I call an “aggressive challenge.” This is a rapid-fire approach where do a lot of something that makes you scared. You won’t have time to think about your fear. Instead you’ll be so busy pushing your boundaries that you forget about what used to make you scared.

• Step 6 - Remain Positive

There will be times when you experience a negative outcome. Something that shakes your confidence and makes you feel scared. The trick is to not let anything prevent you from blasting past the point of comfort. Recognize that you will have negative outcomes. It’s a natural part of the process. Don’t allow negativity to creep into your mind.

• Step 7 - Keep Expanding Your Comfort Zone

Never stop expanding your comfort zone. Even if you arrive at your stated goal it’s important to keep pushing those boundaries. Look for new comfort zone challenges. Find stuff that you would never imagined you would do.
 
*Source: developgoodhabits.com