The fear of leaving your comfort zone is a direct result of the fear of rejection or change. We all have been affected by social anxiety at one point in our life, we fear what others may think, it’s the reason many of us have to mentally prepare doing something as simple as saying “here” during attendance call in class. Change is the only way to grow. Albert Einstein once said “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” If you're looking to improve your life then, you will need to step out of your comfort zone, trust me you will be pleasantly surprised.
1. It Is The Only Way To Grow
Throughout life and especially in college we are constantly trying to discover who we really are and become the best version of ourselves, but how can we constantly do the same thing and expect to grow. There is a Chinese proverb that says “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid of standing still.” You may not see the positive effects of leaving your comfort zone right away, often it may be painful or awkward, but through time you will watch your self grow.
2. Don’t Settle
When people ask you what do you want in life, there never is a simple way to answer that, but we can always know what we don’t want. We don’t want to sit in the same cubicle from 9-5 all day everyday even though it’s consistent. We don’t want to just find our self in a relationship with a significant other just because their “cool” and you are comfortable together. Find some one that your are obsessed with and can’t stop thinking about. Settling in a comfort zone can be dangerous. People are inclined to run back to the very thing that causes them pain just because it is familiar to them. Don’t be afraid to look outside your comfort zone and find something spectacular. You may not know what you want now, but don’t ever settle just because it is comfortable for you. Do you want to just survive life, or find something spectacular and thrive through life?
3. The Unknown Can Hold Treasures
The scariest thing about leaving your comfort zone can be entering the unknown. The unknown can hold a lot of pain and awkward situations. You are going to deal with rejection and pain. You may not be able to see the treasure right away. If you want to experience the treasures that lie outside of your comfort zone than you are going to have to go through some pain. The more that you risk by “putting yourself out there” the higher the reward will be. The more of yourself that you put into your relationships, work and everything you do the more the treasures will mean to you. Hard work makes all success better and stepping out of your comfort zone is hard work.
4. Mistakes are Just Lessons
The most important part about leaving your comfort zone is to know that you when you fail, (and you will, everyone does) that the failure is just a lesson to be learned. Maybe you put yourself out there and went after a new position in your job, and didn’t get it. Don’t allow that to be a reason that you revert back to your comfort zone. Dive deeper. Find yourself even more. Leaving your comfort zone was the only reason you had a chance at that opportunity in the first place. So get back up and dust your self off and learn from your failure and explore even farther out of your comfort zone. These trials will teach you far more about yourself than your comfort zone ever could.
