Learning to get out of your comfort zone

A year ago I was safely in my comfort zone.  I only associated with a few family members and had no real friends.  My outings out of the house consisted of church, the grocery store, the library and the occasional night out with my husband.  Yes it was safe, but it was stagnant and lacked variety.

Fast forward to now.  I have stretched that comfort zone by quite a bit.  Now my outings consist of Grace Academy Homeschool Co-op, The library, The grocery store, Church, Business Among Moms, Outer Banks Entrepreneurs, Ladies nights out, and various meet ups.  There is still a lot more out there for me and the next year will find me stretching that comfort zone out even more.

First of all if my comfort zone was safe, why would I want to stretch it.  As mentioned before your safe comfort zone means little to no growth.  Growth takes risk of some kind.  If you are completely comfortable doing something then there is no risk.  Doing something you have not done before or meeting new people can be daunting for some and terrifying for others.

Taking those first steps out of my little world was not easy.  I had isolated myself because I was tired of reaching out to make friends and realize that the friendships were more important to me than they were to them.  I was tired of always being there for other people and never having them there for me.  It was easier to deal with things by myself than having a hope that others might be there for me and have that be a false sense of security.

I will be honest.  I still do not have friends.  I have a lot of people that I associate with, but not anyone I can call up at 2 AM asking for help.  I am working on that.  Becoming vulnerable to others is currently outside my comfort zone, but that is my next challenge to tackle.  I don't like to have others see me as weak.

So what are the steps to help get you out of your comfort zone?  First is a desire for growth.  What do you want to accomplish in life and what do you need to do to accomplish it?  Write down those goals and the steps it will take.  Next identify your challenges and obstacles to your dreams.   Ask yourself what is holding you back from jumping right in and tackling those steps?  Once you can honestly answer yourself you will begin to discover the edges of your comfort zone.  Third its time to face the fear and discomfort that is holding you back.  Just take the first step no matter how frightening that may be.  Enroll in that class.  Send out that resume, Sign up with that company.  Audition for that show etc.  What ever that first step may be just grit your teeth and do it.  Once you have then breath. You will realize that taking that first step did not end in utter disaster.  After taking that first step you will soon see that your confidence grows and it becomes easier to take the next step after each one is accomplished.

There will come times when taking more steps become hard once again.  When that happens you are facing another growth jump.  It will be time to start the process once again.  Getting out of your comfort zone may not be the easiest thing in the world, but I promise you it will be worth it in the end.