Growth happens when you step out of your comfort zone
One of the fastest and best ways to grow is to step out of your comfort zone even if it might feel tough in that particular moment. Growth happens when you step out of your comfort zone because this is when you push yourself as an individual. Stepping outside your comfort zone is going to have an impact on how you think and behave. As that comfort zone is stretched, you will be able to notice the ripple effect of your choice, impacting many other areas of your life.
Staying in your comfort zone
Staying in your comfort zone is about living a life familiar and secure. Your comfort zone consists of all things familiar to you. It might be familiar surroundings, job tasks, routines and a way of living, how you nurture relationships, and so forth. But your comfort zone can also be all about those smaller things like going to the same restaurant, eating the same foods in the same way. Or maybe living your day in the same manner, from one day to the other.
Your comfort zone is about familiarity, security, and safety. Which can be a good thing of course. But too much of this makes you stuck where you are and in the long run, you will not take on any new challenges. To sum it up this is why taking a step out of your comfort zone can make wonders.
Challenging yourself by stepping out of your comfort zone
When you stay in your comfort zone it is because you have a need to play it safe. It´s not necessarily something you do on purpose. Instead, it is instead more or less the way most of us are built. Your brain’s purpose is to keep you as safe as possible and by keeping you in familiar surroundings your brain preserves energy. In other words, your brain minimizes unnecessary stress and risks in life. Stepping out of your comfort zone will most likely increase some form of temporary stress. But in the long run, you will grow and you will feel more capable of taking on even more challenges.
It is possible to step out of your comfort zone in many ways. You can either do it in a big way or in smaller ways. Let me explain this.
Stepping out of your comfort zone in a small or a big way?
There are many personal development gurus who stretch their comfort zone daily or at least on a weekly basis. This is done on purpose. One example of what someone might do is for instance challenge their normal behavior by doing something less familiar. When going to a restaurant with friends and family they might ask for a favor. Instead of ordering food and drink for everyone, they might ask if the appetizer is free of charge. This isn’t about saving money, it is rather about doing something less comfortable or even awkward, which puts them outside their comfort zone.
To find out how you can stretch your comfort zone you need to know yourself. What feels strange, hard, or awkward to you? Try and stretch that part of your comfort zone, because growth happens when you step out of your comfort zone.
One area I have felt anxious about because it is something I wasn’t at all familiar with, is traveling. To stretch my comfort zone I decided to travel solo. I knew traveling solo was going to almost freak me out but at the same time, I trusted I could handle it. Traveling solo taught me a lot about myself and had me step out of my comfort zone in a big way on quite a few levels.
Traveling solo is surely about enjoying life. But at the same time, there are a lot of decisions to be made. Such as booking your flight and accommodation, how to travel in another country from one place to the other, to what to do in case of emergency. It is about becoming comfortable eating alone, finding people to talk to, going on tours by yourself. And so much more.
If you got inspired to read more about traveling solo, stretching your mind, and stepping out of your comfort zone, then I suggest you read:
And also: If the habits and routines we live by are both keeping us safe and secure, but at the same time they may hinder us from growth, how should we relate to that?
The value of stepping out of your comfort zone
When you are stepping out of your comfort zone and stretching yourself, growth will happen. The interesting thing with growth is that it can many times become visible, not only in the area you are focusing on. But it will have a ripple effect and help you grow in other areas of your life as well.
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