Take a moment and think about a great win in your life. A time when you felt like you could take on the world. Was it a great team victory after months of practice? Was it a personal win after you had tried and stumbled many times? Chances are, if you think back to your big win, it was after you made progress on one of your most challenging goals.
That big win was certainly not inside your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is safe, predictable and… comfortable. So when was the last time you recall an AMAZING experience happening inside your comfort zone? Coming up blank? Me too!
So if we decide to step outside our comfort zone, we allow opportunities for incredible things to happen. Things like learning a new skill, taking on a promotion, moving to a new country, going out on a date, making new friends, or trying a bucket list activity. If we remain inside our comfort zone, we risk remaining stagnant and bored.
The good thing is, that our comfort zone is only in our mind. So, stepping outside is not a physically difficult step. It’s that tricky mind that holds us back so we stay where things are “safe” and “certain” instead of scary. What we miss in the meantime is that the other side of that “scary” coin has no boundaries. The opportunities can be far beyond what we imagine. So when we say that we would love to travel, but then don’t plan a trip or book the ticket, we cheat ourselves of the opportunity to enjoy great experiences.
We can remain in our comfort zone, or we can make a clear choice to step outside. We can enter a learning zone and enjoy new experiences. If we know that the learning zone will come with a few stumbles, and maybe some falls, and can embrace the whole thing and then that victory can be even sweeter!
What is something that is nagging at you? An opportunity that feels really scary? Now what is the worst thing that could happen to you if you stepped into that learning zone and took action? (Hint: The worst thing you imagine is only about 10% likely to come true, and if it does it won’t be nearly as bad as you envision).
“We experience the strongest positive emotional response when we make progress on our most difficult goals.” – Dr. Timothy A Pychyl
Is there a job you aren’t so sure you are qualified for, so you hesitate and don’t apply? Yes, you could end up declined for that role. Or you could end up with an interview. And that might be scary too. But you could be amazing in that interview, and land a great new job, meet new people, and learn new things. Or you could come in #2 for the job and learn from the experience and meet some new connections. Either way you are in a better position than you are today because you will have learned from it.
Each time we do it, we learn that stepping out of our comfort zone is never nearly as scary as we envisioned.
So my challenge to you (and to myself) is to choose something outside your comfort zone. Something that isn’t familiar or easy. Choose a single action step and do it. Give yourself 10 minutes of action toward that scary thing and start. That’s it… just start. The reward of accomplishing something just might keep you going longer than 10 minutes, but maybe not. Or the action might make that BIG thing feel not so big anymore. Either way, you will have made progress. As Dr. Timothy Pychyl says, “We experience the strongest positive emotional response when we make progress on our most difficult goals.”
So go ahead, choose your thing and set a timer. Take action for 10 minutes, and let me know how it goes! Me? I will be signing up to attend a huge event with some big names and booking my travel!
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