“Do one thing every day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
A new start, a new beginning, for the new year. Isn’t that what many of us want? Well we all say we do…but do we really???
The fact is that most of us are so entrenched in our safe and cozy comfort zones that the last thing we want to do is to feel uncomfortable. And here lies the paradox. To create meaningful change in our lives, we must work through these alien and unpleasant feelings.
Consider this: have you ever really wanted something? A new job? A date with someone who has tickled your fancy? If you really wanted that specific thing, you moved heaven and earth to get it. Now that’s the realm you need to start living in.
According to the experts who study this stuff, every time you get out of your comfort zone you “experience a delightful cocktail of stress, fear, anxiety, pain, and doubt.”
Delightful??? Well, yes. You must retrain your mind to view these new situations as positive—and wanted. It’s a matter of attitude. It’s how you approach the new experience. By telling yourself “this is good for me and I want to do this” you take power over the situation and can control it (though unfortunately not the outcome).
Within psychology, this technique is called “cognitive reappraisal,” which means that you reinterpret the meaning of an emotional stimulus.
So, when you begin to tingle with anxiety and start sweating profusely—keep going.
Fellow positive blogger Patrik Edblad puts it this way: choose to see these moments as the gifts they truly are — opportunities to step into your full potential!
There is an important caveat here and it relates directly to the goal setting techniques that I recommend. Breaking down goals into easier steps is always the best and it comes into play here too. To get out of our comfort zone, we must reframe our attitude—and begin with small steps. An example of this is say you want to start your own business. Quitting your job and jumping in is not the best first step. Talking to people who own their own businesses is probably the best first step. It takes you out of your comfort zone slowly.
Another example is that girl or guy who has caught your eye. While approaching them and asking them out would be great, most people shudder at the thought of such strong action. What you can do—to get out of your comfort zone in a way that may feel a lot better—is to simply say hello and start a conversation.
For each uncomfortable situation you put yourself through, you’ll notice that it gets just a little bit easier next time, according to the inspirational Patrik Edblad but even more importantly—according to me! I have done this time and time again and I can tell you unequivocally that it gets easier the more you do it. Successful people have all found that not only is this true, it is also one of the keys to their success.
In future blogs I will give you some fun (and funny) tasks that may help you break out of your zone. Stay tuned.
Do you have any tricks that have helped you get out of your comfort zone? Leave a comment!
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Helpful resource: The Tools: 5 Tools to Help You Find Courage, Creativity, and Willpower–and Inspire You to Live Life in Forward Motion by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels
