Great Things Never Came From Comfort Zones

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“Great things never came from comfort zones – Anonymous”

This quote is so true!

Getting out of your comfort zone can lead to so much satisfaction and increased self-confidence.  It can also teach you new skills and improve your resilience as you prove to yourself that you CAN take on challenges.

Read on to find out more about the science behind comfort zones and how you can push your own boundaries.  I’ve also added some inspirational stories from those who have successfully gone outside their comfort zones.

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What Is A Comfort Zone?

A comfort zone consists of the limits we set ourselves.

We allow fear and limiting beliefs to tell us we can’t do things

For example, I’ve told myself that I’ll never do a long haul flight. I believe I’m too anxious and truly feel like I wouldn’t cope well.

This is a limiting belief which has led me to stay inside a comfort zone of short-haul hops.

Now, I would really love to see America, Canada and the Carribean.  So I’m seriously researching trips for next year.  Eek, that will be totally out of my comfort zone!

I also had the pleasure of interviewing Jennifer – she is truly inspiring and you can read the interview here.

But I Like My Comfort Zone!

I know.  I get that.  It’s cosy there and you’re very happy thank you very much!  You aren’t really sure that you have the desire or the skill to get out of it anyway.

If you’re honest though, do you perhaps feel a little bored?  Do you feel a bit stuck in a rut?  Maybe just a teeny tiny bit?!

It’s all too easy in life to settle into a routine.  To settle for what we have.  To remain in our comfort zones.  All the while, there may be a niggling doubt at the back of our minds which says’ is this it?  Is this how I’m destined to spend the rest of my life?’

Why is it so hard to leave your comfort zone?

It’s because things become routine and staying in your comfort zone minimises stress and risk.  It gives you lower levels of anxiety.

The science bit

The concept of comfort zones was first born in an experiment by Robert Yerkes and John Dodson in 1908.  The study concluded that in order to maximise performance we need to be in a state of being just outside of our comfort zone.

This later became known as ‘optimal anxiety’.  It’s a fine balance between being motivated to succeed but not suffering from too much or prolonged anxiety.

The comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral position.  Judith M. Bardwick

So, what should we do?

 

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Pushing out of your comfort zone won’t be as bad as you think.

I guarantee!

Do you ever dread something and then when it actually happens, think – oh that wasn’t too bad after all?

Remember as well, no-one is actually watching you.  Sorry to be blunt, but the world doesn’t revolve around you!   Others are more concerned about themselves and are equally scared.

Pushing outside your comfort zone will help you grow.  100% guaranteed.  You might also discover something fun that you love.

If you fail, so what, you have learned something.  It will improve your resilience as you become more confident in your ability to adapt and change.

Hmm, OK, Maybe You Are Right…So How Do I Do This??

Start small

Take baby steps.

Read a different genre of book. Walk a different route than you normally would. Try a new recipe using ingredients you haven’t tried before.

Journal about your adventures

What did you love? Did something surprise you? What have you learned?  Was there anything you didn’t like or would do differently next time?

Don’t give up

No-one is good at something the first time they try it.

Research

Get some information.  Speak to the people who have done ‘the thing’ before.

OK, so I realise this in itself can be out of the comfort zone of many!  I’m the same!

For example, recently I was putting off contacting people who had completed a life coaching course I’m thinking of taking.  Making contact with strangers by phone or email is totally outside of my comfort zone.

So, I questioned myself, what’s the worse that can happen?

I knew it was unlikely they would be rude.  The worst that could happen would be that they didn’t reply.

I sent the emails. All of them replied and I got so much out of the dialogue.  And, yes, I’m going to do the course!  More comfort zone pushing as it will involve online group sessions and trips down to Brighton by myself.

Notice when you are saying ‘can’t’

And challenge yourself to replace this with ‘yes I can’!

Widen your circle of comfort – just a little

Try and expand the boundaries of your comfort zone by a small amount.  The best way to do this is by taking action.  It really doesn’t matter how small.

For example, maybe you have a fear of putting your face in the water when you are swimming (a very common fear).  Start by putting your chin under for a few seconds.  Congratulate yourself for that small achievement and then move on to getting the water over your lips.  Then over your nose (a hard bit).

Slowly widen your circle of comfort bit by bit.  Don’t think that you have to do all this at once either!

Make yourself accountable

Announce your plans to your friends and family.  Or on the internet.  Like I’ve just done with the coaching course!!

Don’t wait for the right time

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Photo by Damian Patkowski on Unsplash

How many times have you put off starting the diet or the exercise routine?  You tell yourself you’ll start on Monday, or on January 1st.  Or perhaps you want to start a side hustle or a new business.  But you want to do as much research as possible first or save some more money up.

There will never be the ‘right’ time to start.  If you wait, you could be waiting all your life.  If you have the desire to do something, just begin!  You can get better as you go along.

Do not wait: the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along – Napoleon Hill

Learn to laugh at yourself

You don’t have to take everything so seriously!

[tweetshare tweet=”Love who you are and what you are and what you do.  Laugh at yourself and at life and nothing can touch you – Louise Hay” username=”alisonw30″]

This is so true.  If you acknowledge that you messed up and laugh at yourself, then it becomes impossible for others to laugh at you.

Talk to people who disagree with you

The idea of this one this really scares me as I dislike conflict!  Perhaps I should join a debating society in that case??

For even more ways to push your boundaries, check out this post –  10 unexpected places to find interesting ideas.

In particular from this article, I love the idea of following random people on Twitter.  I’ve met people with different views on the platform, but will challenge myself to follow at least 5 people who are in unrelated posts this week!

What Are The Benefits?

Why should you push yourself outside of your comfort zone?  Because there are some fantastic benefits that’s why!

Here are a few.

You’ll get more done

I find this at work – if I don’t have any deadlines looming I tend to feel comfier and then procrastinate more (shh, don’t tell my boss!)

Give me the pressure and slight unease that comes from running out of time and I’ll suddenly go above and beyond!

You will gain confidence

You will start to gain confidence in what you CAN achieve.  The pre-historic part of our brain tries really hard to protect us and keep us within our comfort zones.

Bless it, it’s only trying to keep us safe!

Once you widen your circle of comfort, you will start to believe that you can do things and will be more likely to make other small changes.

Dealing with challenges will become easier

As you start to believe in yourself more and prove to yourself what you are capable of, the inevitable challenges that life throws at you will become less difficult to tackle.

It will accelerate your learning.

Routine and stability squash our ability to learn.  Mixing it up a bit helps us to learn more and learn it faster.

It will bring you new ideas and opportunities

One step will lead to another, I promise!  You never know who you might meet when you take a different route to work or what taking that first short run around the block could lead to.

You could get talking to someone which opens up new career opportunities for example.  Or you could love running so much you decide to train for a 10k, then a half-marathon, then a triathlon!  Who knows where this could take you.

[tweetshare tweet=”Do one thing every day that scares you – Eleanor Roosevelt” username=”alisonw30″]

Remember though that we don’t need to push ourselves ALL the time.  It’s good to come out of our comfort zone, but it’s also good to retreat and consolidate what we’ve learned.

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Great Things Never Came From Comfort Zones – True Life Stories

I asked you to share your pushing out of your comfort zone stories.  Here is a selection of my favourites.  I hope they will inspire you as much as they did me!

Fear Of Heights

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Photo by Aleksei Kipin on Unsplash

There were quite a few in this category!  Here are my favourites.

Sabrina from The Inbetween Traveller hiked up a volcanic mountain range.  At one point she says “I was so scared of falling all the way down, I couldn’t move anymore, but at the end, I enjoyed the silence and the view from right where I was”.

Peter has a huge fear of flying (who’s with him on this one?) and suffers from vertigo.  He has managed a couple of short haul flights in the last few years and says this has given him a sense of achievement.  He also says that if he is anxious on other forms of transport now, he tells himself ‘at least I’m not on a plane!’

Road to a debt free me told me that she did a skydive despite being terrified of heights.  She is very brave, I’m really not sure I could do a skydive!  (Could this be a limiting belief….) I did once do an abseil down a church and had to be virtually pushed off the top 😀  Road to a debt free me also told me she scuba dived and that she doesn’t like the sea much either!

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Pack Your Bags

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Photo by Erol Ahmed on Unsplash

These stories of people who did just that are truly inspirational!

Ginny bought a tiny camper van after her beloved husband died suddenly.  She went out into the wilderness and backroads of Colorado by herself for three months!   She told me “I loved it so much, I sold my house and lived in my camper on the road for three years writing about it on my blog“.

Chloe told me the amazing story of how she went to Cambodia for a month to help teach children.  She says “I remember going to the airport early hours in the morning feeling like I was going to throw up. I was that nervous about being there without my family.”

More travelling

Another traveller, Ciara  told me “after a really horrible breakup and finishing my degree with no idea what to do with my life – I did a TEFL course and moved to South Korea.  It changed my life as I’m now a primary school teacher.  I suffer crazy with anxiety so still can’t believe I did this!”

Abby moved 12 hours away from home.  Recently she went to see a band she really likes at a bar BY HERSELF!! Like whaaaat?!?   She told me “it’s been a year full of stepping out of my comfort zone”.

I’ve done some of the travelling stuff myself (e.g. Barcelona) and also once went to the theatre on my own to see the musical Wicked.  I felt pretty uncomfortable doing both to be honest, but the sense of satisfaction was immense.  I can’t imagine how scary packing up your life entirely must be!  Here’s another story from someone who has done just that.

Bec from Love She Travels  has given up her job and booked a one-way ticket to Athens from where she’ll travel cheaply and volunteer around Europe for an indefinite number of months.  She says “life definitely begins at the end of your comfort zone, right?!”  Hell yeah!

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Other Adventures

These adventures sound very exciting, if a bit scary!

Wendy, who truly is an inspiration and is always doing something fun, has no hands or feet.  This story is about how she rode down a river in a tube!

Kelly was persuaded to go out on a motorboat with her mum in Mexico.  In the middle of the water, they had an accident and Kelly had to navigate the boat back to shore.  She told me she was really proud to get them both back in one piece!

Kate On Thin Ice walked on fire!  (Thankfully not whilst on thin ice :-D)  She said that she loved it so much that she had to be moved off the burning coals!

Photo by Sonnie Hiles on Unsplash

Donna recently tried to surf on one of those mechanical pool waves.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t as balanced as she thought she was.  She fell and smashed her head and arm…but got up and tried again!  She told me that it was very difficult but super fun!

[tweetshare tweet=”A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step – Lao Tzu” username=”alisonw30″]

Great Things Never Came From Comfort Zones – A Recap

The most important advice for breaking out of your comfort zone is to take that first step.

Then keep pushing.  Don’t settle once you’ve made the one step.  And don’t forget that great things never came from comfort zones!

Has this post inspired you to step outside your comfort zone?  Do you have any examples of where you’ve done this already?  Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

Still need a bit more help with this?  Check out these posts.

The Ultimate Guide To Increased Self-Confidence

Power Of Your Subconscious Mind: How To Overcome Limiting Beliefs

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