Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Ideas To Overcome Four Challenges

Habits rule us. We do the same things the same way over and over because it’s comfortable.

Staying in your comfort zone is safe, but stepping outside your comfort zone is how you grow. Safety and comfort are what we desire as humans—but a life of happiness and fulfillment comes during the moments we step outside of our comfort zones.

For the person who is shy…

Being shy is a common trait. And while you can’t expect to go from shy to outgoing overnight, you can do small things every day or bigger things once a week to help you progress and make the change to becoming less shy and more outgoing.

Step outside of your shy comfort zone by:

• Speaking in public.
• Singing karaoke at a party or restaurant.
• Starting a conversation with someone you don’t know in the grocery store line, on the bus, or in the work break room.
• Asking someone on a date.
• Verbally telling someone how much you love and appreciate them.

For the person who wants to be fit…

It’s important to care for your body and keep yourself in good health. Our bodies are temples, so we need to spiritually and physically take care of them. Trying to get and stay fit physically isn’t an easy task, but it’s one you have to do and are capable of doing if you’re willing to get out of your unfit comfort zone.

If your goal is to get fit, here’s what you can do:

• Get a gym membership.
• Buy exercise equipment and exercise clothes.
• Cook healthier meals at home.
• Choose to make and take your lunch to school or work instead of eating out.
• Dine at healthier restaurants rather than greasy fast food ones.

For the person who wants more friends…

Good friendships enrich your life. Friends help get rid of stress and depression, support you through good and bad times, and teach you the importance of sharing with and caring for others.

Don’t spend your life alone; surround yourself with more friends by:

• Talking to a coworker or someone at church you’ve never talked to.
• Going to a get together you normally wouldn’t attend.
• Accepting people’s invitations when they ask you to go somewhere with them.
• Getting a new hobby that requires you to be around other people, like salsa dancing.
• Doing activities with people you normally would do alone.

For the person who struggles with low self-esteem…

We’ve all gone through a phase where we’ve struggled with our self-esteem. Each of us has an idea of what our life should be like or how we think we should look, and when we don’t feel we meet those expectations our self-esteem lowers.

Build your self-esteem by:

• Practicing self-love and self-compassion exercises every day.
• Setting personal goals and celebrating when you achieve them.
• Keeping a positivity journal.
• Not complaining or tearing yourself down for an entire day.
• Remembering you are a child of God and He loves you.

Safety is felt inside your comfort zone, but over time the feelings of boredom and fear take over. Don’t get stuck in your comfort zone; step outside of it and start building a life of excitement and happiness while building your self-confidence in the process.