5 Easy ways to get out of your Comfort Zone

5 Easy ways to get out of your Comfort Zone

Your comfort zone is not the enemy as long as you don’t let yourself stagnate in it. The moment you do, your comfort zone is going to trap you inside. You’ll start putting more value in your comfort over risk-taking and goal chasing. Where would that leave you in the long run? That’s right.

You’ll still be stuck in your comfort zone. You’d be as you were years ago. Still doing the same mundane things, day in and day out. You may tell yourself you’re happy and comfortable with what you have in your life. But deep inside, you know that’s not true.

The dreams which have consumed you in the past are all gone, suffocated by your comfort zone. If you don’t want to end up like this, then you need to start taking measures right now. Here are 5 easy techniques you can use to get out of your comfort zone.

Say ‘Yes’ More Often

In this context, saying ‘yes’ means being open to new opportunities, new ideas, new perspectives, and new challenges. It means saying ‘yes’ to things that will ultimately bring you out of your comfort zone and help you reach your dreams. When you say ‘yes’ to new experiences, you may feel intimidated at first. But sooner or later, it’s going to get your adrenaline going.

When you succeed and conquer these new challenges, you’ll feel a high like no other. It’s
something you will never experience while you’re trapped inside your comfort zone. When you take the bulls by the horn, and you succeed, you gain a lot of self-respect and self-confidence.

You begin to see yourself in a different light. You’re not such a failure after all. And you begin to see the future in a more positive and more hopeful light. Now, learning to say ‘yes’ doesn’t mean agreeing to everything and everyone that comes your way. The word ‘no’ is equally important as ‘yes,’ and you should know when to use both words properly.

When you say ‘yes’ to people and things who aren’t going to help you grow, then you’re not helping yourself. Saying ‘yes’ to people who want to take advantage of you is a recipe for disaster. Agreeing to do things that go beyond your moral boundaries and your values will only make you hate yourself. You’ll lose self-respect and your self-esteem.

Before you say ‘yes’ to anything, check first if it falls within your boundaries. If it does, then ask yourself how you’re going to benefit from the experience. Will you be more productive? Will you gain new skills? What will you stand to gain? You may be uncomfortable with trying out new things, but as long as you don’t violate any rules and you don’t hurt other people, then you should go for it.

Don’t be afraid to say ‘yes’ to trying new things. Don’t be afraid to say ‘yes’ even if you’ve failed before (perhaps you can do things a bit differently this time and try to avoid doing the things that lead you to your past failures). Don’t be afraid to say ‘yes’ to redeeming your past failures and salvaging your dreams.

Take Baby Steps

Stepping out of your comfort zone can be a daunting task, especially if you haven’t attempted to step out in many, many years. However, it’s not too late. For as long as you’ve got life in you and the strength and energy to pursue your dreams, you can still make a go for it.

Taking baby steps mean not rushing into trying new things. You don’t want to do everything all at once. For most people, rushing into things is a scary concept. Some people can stomach the thought of doing that, but the majority will be scared.

So, to make it easier, you can take small steps out of your comfort zone. It’s like taking one foot out the door first and looking around. When everything looks clear and you feel safe, you take another step forward. You can do the entire process of furtively looking around, making sure no one’s going to come at you to tackle you to the ground, for as long as you need to.

We all do things differently – some like to rush, some like to take it slow. Whatever floats your boat as long as it gets you out of your comfort zone. Small victories count. It doesn’t matter how small you think it is, but as long as you’re making progress, then you’re doing great. It’s what all of us did when we were babies – we first learned to crawl on our bellies, then on our
hands and knees, before finally attempting to stand up and learning to walk on our tiny feet.

You may not remember the number of times you’ve fallen. But I’m sure you can imagine your parents cheering you on from the sidelines, happy with every little progress you made. And you imagine yourself smiling at them and clapping your chubby little hands, looking mighty proud of yourself.

You’ve come a long, long way since then. But here you are again taking baby steps. This time you’re doing it for your goals and for your dreams in life. You may no longer have the luxury of having your parents on your side, but you can still do it. Cheer for yourself and celebrate each and every milestone you tick off your list.

Meet New People

In many ways, your comfort zone is your prison. You do the same things with the same crowd, with the same people. You become so comfortable with the status quo that the thought of meeting and getting to know new people frightens you.

What if they don’t like you? What if they hate you? What if they talk about you behind your back? Negative thoughts about how other people are going to react to you are always on your mind. You don’t want to look like a fool in front of strangers, so you keep to yourself.

While it’s true you can’t predict how people will perceive you, you don’t have to be a hostage to other’s opinion of you. You can’t control their thoughts or emotions. We’re all free to choose who we’re going to like. However, when you trap yourself inside your comfort zone, you also don’t grow. You know the people you’ve been hanging out with forever – you know
their likes, dislikes, their attitudes, etc.

When you meet new people, you’re thrown in for a fun and exciting loop. You learn new ideas, you learn new perspectives, who knows maybe you’ll even learn a new language or two!
We all have so much to offer, even you. When you meet new people, they can potentially influence you, and you can influence them too.

You’ll exchange ideas, you’ll exchange knowledge that neither of you knew before. If you’re running into some problems and your current clique can’t help you, then perhaps someone else can help you. Don’t be afraid to reach out – it’s how new relationships are built.

There are a lot of benefits to expanding your network of friends and acquaintances. You may even benefit professionally as meeting new people can open new doors for you. If you’re genuine, people will gravitate to you and won’t hesitate to reach out to you, too.

Lastly, new people have the added benefit of not knowing about your past. It means they won’t be prejudging you based on some stupid thing you did in the past. You’ll begin with a clean slate. Of course, it’s going to be up to you if you ever want to share the more intimate details of your past with your new friends. Coming out clean is a good idea though, especially if your new relationships are taking off to greater heights.

Get Someone To Help You Out

Some people may think asking for help is a sign of weakness. But it’s simply not true. There is a saying that goes, ‘no man is an island.’ Humans are social creatures, we’re meant to live in communities. True isolation can drive us crazy and is generally not good for our psyche.

Asking for help is a sign of strength – it’s not easy asking for help especially if you’ve got a lot of pride. But, when you’re afraid to ask for help, you’re not going to find a solution to your problem. If you don’t have the answers, then who does? Probably someone else might be able to help you.

Now, if you find it hard to get out of your comfort zone alone, then you can ask someone to help you out. Get a partner to motivate you to do things that don’t fall within your skill set. Someone who will guide you through the tough spots.

In order to make the most of having someone by your side, it’s best to be honest with them. There’s no point in playing coy. If you play coy, then you’re not going to get the kind of help you need. Which would kind of miss the point of why you’re asking for help in the first place.

You can ask for help from your spouse, your kids, parents, friends, mentors, even acquaintances and complete strangers. Again, we all have unique things to offer. If a stranger would be kind enough to help you out, then grab their offer. They’re not going to wait for you to take them up on their offer forever.

One thing to keep in mind when asking for help is that you shouldn’t ever be rude or arrogant. Pride sometimes does that to people. Because they don’t want to seem weak, they try their best to look and act tough. This, in turn, pushes people into not wanting to help you.

So please, do yourself a favor and just be nice to people who can help you get to where you want to go. Your kindness is going to pay you back in spades someday.

Just Do It

Don’t be afraid to throw caution to the wind when you really, really need to. Sometimes, you just have to take the leap whether you’re ready or not and just face the consequences later. It may not turn out as you hope, but at least you’re not going to be kicking yourself later on for not even trying.

A lot of opportunities will only come your way once in your lifetime. How many of those have you missed? How many of those do you regret not taking action on? The feeling of regret can really gnaw at you especially if you know you’re never going to get another chance. Many people on their deathbeds profess regret at missing out on so many opportunities life has presented to them.

They regret not living the life they had hoped to live. You’d hate to end up like that. If something wonderful comes your way and it’s something that appeals to you, then you should just go do it. Especially if you know you’re going to be disappointed in yourself if you let the opportunity pass by without doing anything about it.

Sometimes, you won’t have the luxury of having the time to weigh the pros and cons. For time-sensitive opportunities, you really have no other choice but to wing it if you want to see yourself succeed. The good thing is when you just go do it, you don’t end up overthinking and procrastinating and eventually talking yourself out of it. Instead, you actually take action. And when you do, then you’re taking yourself out of your comfort zone without putting too much pressure on yourself!

Final Words

Do the things you want to do. Don’t let your comfort zone hold you back (1). Taking risks is a great way to live life. You will either succeed and reap your reward, or you will fail and learn valuable lessons. Either way, you’re going to be learning a lot and winning in life at the same time!