How to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone (and Why It’s Important): 3 Steps
There’s magic waiting just beyond the borders. Been a while since you’ve traveled to the land of personal or professional growth? Fear not. Follow these three small steps to get started and watch your horizon expand.
Understand the purpose of your comfort zone
If you ask your brain, comfort is synonymous with safety. In order to preserve the body - that is, to keep you alive - your brain routinely seeks out the path of least resistance. This manifests as upholding the status quo. Trouble is, our comfort zones can also lead to stagnation, boredom, and shying away from new opportunities simply because they’re unfamiliar.
The next time you have the urge to keep things business as usual, take a pause and acknowledge what’s happening. You might even say something like, “Hi Brain, thanks for always making my safety a priority.”
2. Learn to recognize when you’re leaving your comfort zone
Pay attention to how you feel when presented with something new that carries any measure of risk: Did your breathing change? Is it felt in your stomach? Your chest? These signs can clue you in to recognize when you’re leaving your zone of comfort – and entering a place where you can open yourself up to growth.
3. Put yourself in situations where growth can occur
Purposely put yourself in situations that stretch the boundaries of your comfort zone. Start small, with low risk situations, a few times over the course of a month. Try a different coffee shop, or explore a new trail on your weekly hike. Reflect upon what happened in your journal afterwards: What did it feel like before, during, and after?
Then, make it a weekly practice. Schedule it on your calendar to hold yourself accountable. Keep journaling for a few weeks or months, until going beyond your comfort zone on a weekly basis has become a habit.
Some ideas to get you started:
Attend a networking event
Sign up for a class
Ask a new acquaintance out for coffee
Attend (or speak at!) a conference
Plan a solo trip
Our brains are primed for us to survive. In order to truly thrive, we need to push the boundaries of our current comfort zone. Begin by acknowledging the role this safety plays, and then learn to recognize the physical sensations in your body when you leave this zone. Beginning with the smallest step you need, commit to getting outside your comfort zone a few times each month. From there, commit to a weekly practice of stretching those boundaries. It will feel more natural in no time, and you’ll be reaping the rewards of growth!
The work of stretching beyond our current comfort zone is foundational in my practice with coaching clients. If you’d like more strategies, support, and accountability as you explore the magic that’s waiting just outside those borders, I invite you to reach out.