Step out of your comfort zone

Don’t worry… it’s more common than you think…

Most people just play it safe. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, sometimes it’s the appropriate course of action. But sometimes it’s not…

So, the question is, are you playing it safe out of a rational assessment of risk & reward, Or are you playing safe out of fear?

How do you feel every time you play safe?

Cocooning yourself in your comfort zone won’t give you any adventure or excitement. If you choose to stay in your cocoon then you could be trapped with  fear and boredom. You may even feel that your life won’t be fulfilled.

I used to play safe all the time. There was a stage in my life when I couldn’t see myself growing as a person. So one day I decided to break free like a butterfly leaves its cocoon and embraced some changes in my life.

Mind you, it takes lots of practice. The biggest challenge I face is to make sure I’m not falling back into my comfort zone mode again. That’s why I have to challenge myself  and stretch my limits a bit more every time.

Getting out of my comfort zone, not only in my life, but in my business means that it all becomes so much more interesting and exciting.

While stepping out of your comfort zone naturally has real risks, it has rewards too. I’ve encountered  so many great opportunities, and connected with so many great people along way.

Here are some tips to get your started and so you’ll never look back:

1. Practice, practice, practice -Challenge yourself to do things that your mind and body want to stay away from. Train yourself by gradually taking on more daring tasks. This doesn’t mean you have to master your own fear because it will be impossible to do that. Just recognise it, acknowledge it, and harness it.

2. Positive Mindset – Keep a positive mind. Get rid of negative assumptions about what will happen. Instead get curious and make things interesting and exciting. Doing so will empower you to explore the process. You will find a lot more opportunities for exploration if you get rid of the negative assumptions about the types of adventures you’ll find. Sometimes we can be very judgemental and we choose not to see opportunities even they are right in front of us.

3. Find an ally – Find a friend or a family member who will give  you the support you need, and help you stay grounded, keep you calm, and lower your stress. That way you can go through the process at ease.

4. Enrol yourself in courses – Learning something new is the quickest way to have new experiences and try something completely different. This is how you gain confidence by building up your competence. By getting yourself out there and doing classes you will give yourself opportunity to meet new people in an environment that respects change.

5. Use Your Social Networks – Participate and branch out in your social networks. You can get unusual opportunities you probably wouldn’t have considered before. Joining online community groups or forums will  give you the chance to gain new experiences and knowledge. Becoming a member of a designer group, for example, will expose you to many new designers from different creative fields. This means you will learn something new that you would not have otherwise experienced.

6. Chunk it Down – Don’t try to battle your ultimate fears all at once. Set your goals, plan your steps, and take appropriate action. If the task is too difficult, break it into something more manageable, and do it. Have you heard of the saying; “How to eat an elephant?” The answer is one bite at the time. On the other hand, if the challenge is too easy then step it up. Say for example that you want to build your muscle definition. You wont get the result you want if you keep applying the same amount of weight each time. You need to ramp up the weight in order to see the change. For me, one of my challenges was public speaking. What I did at the beginningn was I spoke at a small workshops of ten people. Once I was confident with ten people, then I moved to  bigger seminar of fifty people. From there I stretched myself further  doing bigger seminars of up to one hundred people. Can you see by doing this way, I was actually giving my self a chance to grow and be confident & competent?

7. Acknowledge your nervousness – Don’t try to control how you feel. Getting nervous is normal. The reason you are feeling like this is because you care about what you are going to do. Everyone gets those butterfly feelings in their tummies… The difference is they mastered how to handle their nerves. So with many practices you can learn how to handle it well too.

8. Allocated Time – Block out time for yourself. Get the “Me Time” happening as part of your life and work practices. It’s very important for you. “Me Time” gives you time out away from your normal routine so you can explore new ideas and have new adventures.

9. Be Bold –  One of the biggest things that holds many people back is their  fear of what others think of them. After all, you don’t want people to think you’re weird or stupid right? There is nothing wrong to “take the Micky out of yourself” sometimes… as long as there is a reason behind what you’re doing… so let people know why you are doing what you’re doing. Once they know your real reasons they will no longer laugh at you, but they’ll laugh with you… A bit difference. So it’s time to get rid of your concern for what people think of you. You’re allowed to be less than perfect. Everyone is! And you may find that people like you more for it, and respect you more for it as well. They may even like to hang out with you because you’re a more exciting person to be around.

10. Fear factor – A really good way to step out of your comfort zone is to face your fears. Some people fear the dark, cockroaches, spiders, even height. If you could conquer your own fear, getting out of your comfort zone would be a breeze.

11. Become comfortable with taking risks – People stay in their comfort zone because it’s easy to do and they know what to expect from it. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be scary at time because you’re afraid of failure or losing something. But here’s the thing… have you ever thought about what you might also gain if you take the plunge?

12. Enjoy the unknown – When was the last time you experienced the “unknown”? Can you recall that excitement and the adrenaline rush of not knowing what was going to happen next? It’s a scary feeling right?but definitely a great experience to have too. Do you miss that feeling

“Enjoy it ,embrace and just do it. Life is too short!”
~ vinh van lam