Neale Donald Walsch once said, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.
This quote is so apt! Once we step out of our comfort zone, that’s when the real adventure begins. This is when we start to experience new things and begin our road to personal development.
Let us understand what the comfort zone is?
The comfort zone is a behavioral space where one feels familiar and experiences low anxiety. It provides a sense of security because it is known. People tend to stay inside their comfort zones to avoid feeling anxious or stressed.
The problem with staying in your comfort zone is that it prevents one from growing and reaching their full potential. When we stay inside our comfort zones, we don’t challenge ourselves to do new things or take risks. We become stagnant and stop learning.
Why do people stay in their comfort zone?
One of the main reasons people stick to their comfort zones is fear and doubt. They are afraid of the unknown and doubt their abilities to cope with new situations. This fear can be paralyzing and prevent people from taking any action.
Fear is usually developed in childhood from our experiences and observations. If we see our parents or other people around us behaving in a certain way, we tend to adopt the same behavior. For example, if we see our parent’s being fearful of flying, we are likely to develop the same fear.
Why is it important to step out of your comfort zone?
It helps you grow as a person
When you step out of your comfort zone, you are challenging yourself to do something different. This could be anything from taking a new job, traveling to a new country, or even trying new food.
Whatever it is, by doing something new you are pushing yourself to grow and develop as a person. You are learning new things and expanding your horizons.
It helps you overcome your fears
One of the main reasons people stay inside their comfort zones is because they are afraid of the unknown. They are afraid of failing or looking foolish. But by stepping out of your comfort zone, you are facing your fears head-on.
You might not overcome all of your fears immediately, but each time you step out of your comfort zone you are becoming more and more comfortable with the unknown. Soon, you will find that your fears are no longer holding you back.
It helps you build confidence and overcome self-doubt
We often doubt our own capabilities and this stops us from trying new things and taking action. When you make the effort to step out of your comfort zone you are given the opportunity to do something new and challenging.
This gives you a sense of accomplishment. As you start to do more things outside of your comfort zone, you will build up your confidence and overcome self-doubt.
You will become more confident in your abilities and start to feel like you can achieve anything you set your mind to.
It helps you achieve your goals
If you want to achieve your goals, you need to be willing to step out of your comfort zone. There is no growth or development without taking risks.
So if you’re feeling stuck in a rut, or like you’re not reaching your full potential, challenge yourself to do something outside of your comfort zone. It might be scary at first, but it will be worth it in the end.
Allows you to experience new things
One of the best things about stepping out of your comfort zone is that you get to experience new things. You get to see the world in a new light and have new experiences.
You might find that you enjoy things that you never would have thought of trying before. So don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and explore all that life has to offer.
Steps you can take to defeat the comfort zone
Get rid of your limiting beliefs
Our limiting beliefs are holding us back from moving forward and working towards self-improvement.
We all like to be comfortable in our own space, as our limiting beliefs hold us back. In order to be able to achieve and understand how “life beings at the end of your comfort zone”. One will have to work on getting rid of limiting beliefs that you have.
These are beliefs that tell you that you can’t do something or that you’re not good enough.
Some examples of limiting beliefs are:
-I am not smart enough to
-I’m not talented enough to
-I’m not good enough to
If you want to step out of your comfort zone, you need to let go of these beliefs. You need to believe in yourself and your abilities.
Stop doubting yourself and make it happen
Doubt is one of the main things that holds us back from taking action. We doubt our abilities and we doubt that we can succeed.
If you want to step out of your comfort zone, you need to stop doubting yourself. You need to believe that you can do it.
Work on overcoming your self-doubt, and make the decision to step out of your comfort zone.
Understand what is holding you back and fight your fear
Fear is one of the main things that stops us from taking action and stepping out of our comfort zone. We might be afraid of failing or we might be afraid of looking foolish.
In order to overcome your fear, you need to understand what is holding you back. Once you know what your fear is, you can start to work on overcoming it.
There are many ways to overcome your fear. You can start by facing your fear head-on.
Start by doing something that is slightly outside of your comfort zone. Once you have done this, you will start to feel more confident and capable.
Create a bucket list
One way to push yourself to try new things is to create a bucket list. This is a list of things that you want to try or experience
Some examples of items that you could put on your bucket list are:
- Take a public speaking class
- Visit a new country
- Try a new food
- Do something that scares you
- Sky Diving
We all have things we want to experience in life, but avoid doing so because we are afraid to take the next step. Once you have created this list it is important you take initiative and try it.
Start small
When trying something new, we all feel overwhelmed with the thought. The Key to this is to start small.
You don’t have to do something big and scary all at once. you can ease into it by taking baby steps.
Some examples of small steps that you could take are
-Talk to a stranger
-Visit a new place
-Attend a networking event
-Join a new club or group
Doing something small will help you ease into the uncomfortable feeling of trying something new. It will also help build your confidence so that you can take on bigger challenges.
Try visualizing the thing you want to do
visualization is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals. When you visualize something, you are essentially telling your brain that this is something you want to achieve.
When you visualize yourself doing something, it will start to become more real to you. and the more real it becomes, the easier it will be to take action and make it happen.
Some examples of things you could visualize are:
-Giving a speech
-Running a marathon
-Asking for a raise
-Starting your own business
If you want to achieve something, start by visualizing it. The more you visualize it, the more likely you are to take action and make it happen.
Set a deadline for yourself
When you set a deadline for yourself, it will help to motivate you to take action. When you have a date that you need to achieve something, it will help to push you out of your comfort zone.
So if you want to try something new, set a deadline for yourself and make it happen.
Final words on “Life Begins at the end of your comfort zone”
Taking action and stepping out of your comfort zone can be scary. But it is also essential if you want to achieve your goals and live a fulfilling life.
So don’t let your fears hold you back. Understand what is holding you back and take action. Remember, life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
