Comfort zone is a term that is around to stay. Often used in the business world; often used to push someone in the sporting world to their Personal Best, and even in the world of relationships, whether it is to ask someone for that date, to finish with someone, to say sorry…..
It is simple, we can all relate to it, and we all know (deep down inside) that for us to grow and achieve, we need to get right out of that zone, at least every now and again.
Sometimes it is easier than others, sometimes the rewards are great and sometimes they may seem smaller. Sometimes it may be more personal, other times may be financial or sporting. Either way the sense of achieving that task once we have stepped out and stepped up is worth the terror. Terror may seem a strong word, but for some, depending on the task in hand, it really is. Did you know studies have shown that death was a lot of people’s second fear. Public speaking was people’s first.
I guess the fear is related to just how far you are stepping out….
By starting to break patterns that are habitual to us and comfortable, you will see that you can step out your comfort zone a lot more often than you think, and see what a difference even small steps outside can make…..
Here are some ideas…
1. Wear something to an event that you wouldn’t normally. Just recently I wanted to wear a blue skirt to a networking event, but only had black tights, so dug deeper in to my drawer and found the purple ones I had worn to a fancy dress party recently… Perfect!
2. Do you always choose the same sandwich filling from the same cafe? Why not choose something different, or somewhere different?
3. During my marathon training, I make sure I say Good Morning to everyone I walk past, a little while ago, I realised, not only was I ignoring everyone that I walked past, but found myself looking down, just incase they were trying to catch my eye. Now everyone gets a big gushing Good Morning, that they can’t fail to ignore!
4. Are you in the same routine with your partner? Your family? Do you follow a similar pattern with your friends…. Why not mix it up a bit? I don’t mean your partners, (unless that’s your thing!), but just think how you treat people? Is there someone you come across in your day that you just say hi to, or worse still just grunt at. Why not ask them how they are? You never know it could mean the world to them…., and I bet you’ll feel good after!
5. Can you leave your phone in another room for the evening? Or even an hour? Something I am terrible at, but am working on it because I realise it is not healthy for me, and incredibly disrespectful to anyone that I am with. Hardly rocket science is it!
6. Is it movie night? Are you getting a film out or going to the cinema? What about seeing something different?
7. What are you doing this weekend? Why not just get in the car and drive? Maybe pack an overnight bag, just incase you feel crazy enough to stay somewhere over night spontaneously, or if you’re feeling really crazy don’t pack the bag and still stay somewhere overnight. Medications allowing obviously….
8. When was the last time you did something fun? When was the last time you skipped? Either with a skipping rope or without? It’s amazing the effect of doing something from days gone by can bring out in you….
9. Stopping. This is going to be a real tricky one for me. I love even numbers, and if they have to be odd, they have to be 7 or 13. It was going to be ten ideas, but I am going to stop here instead and try and finish this really quickly, because it is not sitting well with me at all!
So I am typing very fast now, but seriously, it doesn’t have to be mega changes or major leaps of faith, just start doing small things differently and you will see that actually staying in your comfort zone is where it is uncomfortable!
So go for it, would love to hear what you get up to…….
