How to escape your comfort zone
I recently presented an article in my newsletter titled “Live an uncomfortable existence”, about getting out of your comfort zone.
I wanted to use this blog post to expand a little on how to stretch our comfort zones, and why we need to. In my experience one of the great stumbling blocks to getting what you want out of life is the fear of failure. For many years I have observed that achieving almost always requires overcoming some fear of failure.
For some of my clients this was not a problem but for the majority it was a major hurdle in reaching their goals.
What is failure?
Is it attempting something and not achieving the desired result?
For me that is not a definition of failure. To me, failure is sitting in your comfort zone and never attempting to do anything that will make a better life for yourself.
Do you lack confidence to try?
Confidence doesn’t have to be a pre requisite to attempt anything. Well not confidence in achieving the end result. The only confidence you truly need is the confidence to take the first step towards that result. And as you take more successful steps, your confidence will increase, and before long you have achieved your goal. Even though it might take more than one or two attempts.
Sometimes the thought of just taking that first step outside your normal comfort zone is too much. Hence the need to practise the comfort zone exercises, so you are not daunted by starting out.
Why?
Because you have practised how to operate effectively outside of your comfort zone each and everyday.
My good friend, Graeme Alford gave this idea to me: Comfort Zone Exercises—one short term, one long term. The Comfort Zone Exercises can be whatever you need them to be, just so long as they make you feel a little uncomfortable and they get you out of that comfort zone. The exercises don’t have to be relevant to anyone but you.
Some of the great things about these exercises are: you learn how to operate when feeling a little unsettled out of your comfort zone, and you realise that at any time you have a choice to walk into or away from anything you want.
Here are few examples, but remember your comfort zone exercises are only relevant to getting you out of your comfort zone.
Short Term
- No coffee for a week
- No dessert after dinner
- No chocolate
- Give up alcohol and cigarettes for a period
- Have lunch with work colleagues you don’t particularly get on with
- Take a Toastmaster’s course and MC the annual work Christmas party
- Take singing lessons and start practising the national anthem
- Take a high speed driving course
- Don’t eat until you are hungry. No, I mean really hungry
- For a short period, wear clothes that are not really you
- Take diving, caving or learn to fly classes
Long Term
- Take public transport to work for one year
- Exercise for 30 mins three times per week for a year
- Sit on the committee of your local sporting club for a season
- Be a volunteer at a local homeless shelter
- Get out of bed one hour earlier each day
- Walk to work for a year
- Drink nothing but water for a year
- Take an education course in something that you know you are not strong in
- For one hour each week for one year, do something you do not like to do
As you can see the Comfort Zone Exercises are only restricted by your imagination. The key is to think about the things that make you uneasy, and then just gradually put yourself in those situations. In some cases you will complete your exercises first go. In others, you may need to repeat them as you might fall a little short on your first attempt.
The significance and benefit of comfort zone exercise is that no-one else is making you do it; it’s just you and your desire to develop your own skills and abilities.
Do you have trouble getting out of your comfort zone? Have you got your own stories about stretching that zone with your own activities or exercises?
Please leave a comment to share your story with us.
Bonus offer
December 1st, 2006 at 11:04 am
I found that moving overseas, to a place where I knew no-one, was a big stretch of my comfort zone. Since I could not rely on my existing social networks, I was forced to become a bit braver in introducing myself to people.
That was something I used to be very uncomfortable with, and it was very scary to begin with. Definitely worth doing though, and it has given me an understanding of the self-limitations I put on myself.