You’ve heard a lot about getting out of your comfort zone. But have you ever thought about why you should? After all, your comfort zone is where you feel in control and safe. It’s where you can predict what will happen and how you will feel. There are rarely any surprises.
So why would you feel compelled or even want to get out of your comfort zone? You need to do it because getting out of your comfort zone is the key to your personal growth and happiness. If you don’t step out on your own, you could get dragged out kicking and screaming when life happens. That’s what happened to me.
I was a full-time homemaker, followed by a full-time homeschooling mom for 9 years. Then I got dragged into my husband’s golf business. I quickly learned bookkeeping to help out. Then the golf shop failed and I jumped into a bookkeeping job to support our family. The company I worked for changed drastically and I quickly became miserable there. In addition, rents in our area went through the roof and we weren’t sure how long we would be able to keep up. My husband and I decided we were moving to Oregon. Then my whole world fell out from under me.
It wasn’t until I got some good meds and some good therapy that I realized I had control of my own actions. It was at that point I decided to start my coaching business and go back to school. Stepping out of your comfort zone helps you build up your self-confidence and self-image.
Is being there holding you back from living a fulfilled life and choosing a career path that challenges you?
The answer is yes. Being in your comfort zone and staying there is keeping you from realizing and achieving what you desire. Staying safely within your comfort zone keeps you from being challenged and you don’t have to rise to any new occasions (or you are unprepared when life happens).
Here are 3 ways staying in your comfort zone is holding you back.
- It’s keeping you from growing personally. When you are afraid of something, staying in your comfort zone keeps you from facing that fear. Then you suffer from that fear forever or until you do face it. You stay away from situations that would put you in a position of having to face that fear.
For example, your fear of public speaking keeps you from taking a job that requires you to speak in front of others, even though doing so would help spread your message. - Staying in your comfort zone is keeping you from being happy. Maybe you struggle with self-confidence and self-esteem issues. These problems can grow unless you take steps outside your comfort zone to begin addressing them. Stepping outside your comfort zone helps you build confidence in yourself and see yourself in a better light.
When you are confident and have good self-esteem, you are happier. For example, if you’re not confident in your abilities, you tend to stay in your comfort zone instead of trying something new. This drags down your confidence making you feel less competent and making you unhappy. - Staying in your comfort zone can make you feel trapped and unhealthy. Often our comfort zone keeps us doing bad habits out of fear. You might want to be more active, run a marathon, feel less aches and pains and go on adventures. But to do any of these things means doing something that is outside your comfort zone.
For example, you want to run a short marathon. It’s always been a dream of yours, but you procrastinate and make excuses why you can’t. You’re too out of shape. You don’t have time. You’re too old. But the real reason is because you are afraid to get out of your comfort zone and begin training. As a result, you continue to eat unhealthy, gain weight, lose muscle tone and put your dream on the back burner until eventually, your health becomes a problem.
How can you break out?
