3 Easy Steps for Leaving Your Comfort Zone

Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone

During this series of writings uncovering Passion and Purpose, one thing we are now certain of is magic happens when you step outside your comfort zone.

As human beings, it’s natural that we crave security and comfort. As we create our lives we create our little zone. Just think about it for a minute. Bet you have some sort of rhythm to your day and this routine helps lower levels of stress in your day-to-day. Because you know what you are doing. A Comfort zone describes places or situations where you feel safe and in control. These can be your home, workplace, favorite gym, restaurant, or even city. Other examples could be your morning routine, eating the same breakfast every, and sticking around in a job or relationship. Things are familiar and with that comes ease and comfort. So anytime we’re faced with stepping outside of our comfort zone it leaves us feeling a little vulnerable and can sometimes be just downright scary. The little bubble, while comforting as it may be will limit and get in the way of you living your life to the utmost potential. Truth is, the way we grow is by stepping outside our zone.

Enter the Fear Zone with Confidence

“If you want something you never had, then you’ve got to do something you’ve never done!”

Greatness was never made in a comfort zone! Ready to quit that job? Move to a new country? Start that new relationship? Go skydiving? What would you do if you were not afraid? Fear is the first signal that where moving outside of our routine, outside of our comfort zone. Sharing a big little secret, you can’t get rid of fear. Instead, learn to breathe through the panic. Become aware of what’s outside of your comfort zone and get clear about what you need to overcome.

First step. Acknowledge the fear. When it shows up, say hello. It has come into your life to bring something to the forefront, to teach you something, and allow you to grow. Instead of pushing it away, embrace the fear and take its power away. What is it you need to learn from this fear? Hopefully, by now you have accepted (realized) the only way forward is on the other side of fear. Know this. Fear is one of the most basic human emotions. Programmed into your nervous system and works like an instinct. It’s a necessary emotion from the first moment we are born, fear is natural and powerful. Fear is the alert button, not a full stop. It just says beware a take your time on the next steps forward.

Start to Stretch the Zone

Take the first small manageable step. Whatever the challenge that caused the fear of stepping out of your comfort zone, break it up into mini goals. Don’t allow a lack of self-confidence, or start finding excuses, or excuse the French but give an F* by others’ opinions. This is your life, your fear to push past and nobody can do it but you. You have already come this far. Trust that you have everything already in you to power through your fear to get you to the exciting side of learning and growing. And to get there you need to do scary things, sometimes it’s moving far away from family and friends and starting over, and sometimes it’s saying goodbye to a job or career, a relationship. Whatever it is, get comfortable with discomfort. By starting slowly and taking baby steps you stretch your comfort zone. Stretch as you go. In that stretch be confident in knowing that you will acquire all the new skills needed while learning to manage your new challenges.

Leave Comfort to Enter your Growth Zone

For as scary as it may seem, the pursuit of one’s goals is what makes life fun, exciting, and enjoyable. The road to discovering your passion and purpose will take setting a goal and achieving it. Matter of fact, once you get comfortable with discomfort, you will do this many times over in your lifetime. Once you picked up and moved to another country halfway around the world, you can do it again and again. Once you do something new, and it becomes old, you look for the new again. Make sense? Once you push past your comfort zone once, you can do it again and again. Is it easy? Nope. Can you do it? Yes. Taking the small manageable steps and moving slowly onto unchartered territory you’re able to leave your comfort zone and ease your way into the growth zone.

Live the Life You Desire & Deserve

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” Everything in Life that matters requires some element of risk. To live the life you desire and deserve you’re going to at some point need to move out of your comfort zone. To get there it takes patience with yourself, and with others, and taking manageable steps to get there. Become the master of your emotions, feel the fear, and then move past it. Anxiety, yes we see, feel you. And guess what it’s normal, Find the courage to move past it. Start small, and stretch your zone. It also helps to find like-minded people in the direction you choose to go forward, who will help celebrate your accomplishments and help you learn from your failures along the way. Trust in knowing that you will become a stronger person and gain the self-confidence you never even knew you had. Leaving your comfort zone you will gain new experiences, meet new people and live the life you desire and deserve.