A Guide to Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

BY SYDNEY AMBURY

Sydney is currently studying social work, her passion is in supporting and inspiring other women to find their place, moving into all that God has for them. When she’s not studying or working, Sydney enjoys reading, spending time in coffee shops, and has recently begun enjoying exploring the outdoors. Find more about Sydney at https://hherennow.wixsite.com/herenow.

We crave comfort; it’s human nature. Our comfort zones are safe places where we can retreat to relax, but they are not places we want to get stuck in. You cannot grow in your comfort zone. While you may feel safe inside your little bubble, in order to be able to overcome obstacles, you need to leave your comfort zone.

I will be completely upfront with you: I don’t like leaving my comfort zone. Frankly, it scares me a lot. There are times in my life where I’ve done it, where I have taken the step. I have joined the teams without knowing the game, I have gone to events where I didn’t know a single person in the room, I have spoken on stages, and the list goes on.

These things are great, and I’m very proud that I was able to do them, but there’s more to my story.

There have been a lot of times where I’ve allowed the fear to hold me back. Times where I quit because it got hard or where I didn’t say yes to going on stage. Fear is a powerful thing that can take hold and prevent us from accomplishing greatness. And I don’t want that for you. I don’t want fear to hold you back from achieving the incredible things that lie just outside your comfort zone.

So I present to you a four-step guide to getting out of your comfort zone. It’s going to be difficult, and it’s going to take work, but you can do it! I fully believe that if you put your mind to it, you are absolutely capable of stepping outside of your comfort zone.

Stop Saying No

This is the first thing that you need to do. Stop saying no. I don’t mean to never say no; you need to have boundaries. I mean that when you are presented with an opportunity that is out of your comfort zone, you need to stop automatically jumping to no. This might be the hardest step because it is the very first step. 

I’m sure that you can think of something right now that terrifies you. Something that feels completely out of your comfort zone. That thing that you’ve said no to a hundred times before. Take that no and turn it into a yes.

Small Steps

Now what? You’ve said yes, and now you have this terrifying thing that you’re supposed to be doing. Maybe you don’t know where to start. The answer to this is simple: you just start. Don’t worry about it being perfect or having all the right tools, you just need to start.

Take the first step, focus on that. And after that, take another step. Focus on putting one foot in front of the other. The big picture is overwhelming, there are too many things to do. But when we focus on one small step at a time, it’s so much more manageable.

Accept Help

So you’re doing it. You’re doing the thing that terrified you. Good job! As you keep moving forward, the steps might get harder. You will probably want to quit. The key is not letting yourself quit. This will be hard. I will be fully honest with you, I’m a quitter. When things get tough, I more often than not drop everything and walk away. It’s easier that way, comfortable. 

But that’s not what we’re trying to do here. We’re trying to move out of our comfort zones, to grow into the people that our comfort zones try to hold us back from. You cannot let yourself quit, even when it gets hard. The best way that I’ve found to do this is by inviting others into your journey. When you have other people holding you accountable and cheering you on, it makes it that much harder to quit.

Let Yourself Fail

The final step is the ending. You need to accept that you will fail at some point. Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t comfortable for a reason. When you think about doing something, a thousand different scenarios likely run through your head. And if you’re anything like me, then most of those scenarios probably end in flames.

I’m sorry to tell you, but sometimes our worst-case scenarios come true. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be painful, and won’t always go the way you want it to. That’s why it is so scary. But you need to take the risk. Staying in your comfort zone out of fear of failing isn’t going to get you anywhere.

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I don’t know what your season looks like right now. I don’t know what getting out of your comfort zone looks like for you. What I do know is that the only way to grow is by taking that step. If you are willing to say yes, focus on one step at a time, accept help, and allow failure I sincerely believe that you can leave your comfort zone to grow and achieve great things.