Everyone has a different comfort zone. By adulthood, a majority of people know what is and isn’t comfortable for them. While establishing boundaries and knowing your limitations can be helpful in some ways, it can also stand in the way of modernity’s mantra: “live your best life.” If people only ever did what was comfortable or familiar, then many of the greatest and most interesting accomplishments of the human race would have never taken place. Of course, getting out of your comfort zone is far from easy, but it is what is required to live your best life.
To help ease yourself into this mindset, take a look at these suggestions. By slowly working your way out of a place of comfort, you can take on all sorts of new and exciting challenges.
Break Your Routine
There are endless benefits to having a routine in your life. Whether you walk the same way to school or you always get the same lunch, predictability can bring with it an air of contentment. Naturally, these habits can also be fantastic to focus on when you’re looking to get out of your comfort zone. Breaking your routine is a surefire way to start testing the waters for more engaging concepts. Instead of ordering a plain coffee in the morning, try a flavored latte. If you always eat a salad, grab a burger.
While these small adjustments might seem to have low stakes, the shifts can break the monotony and introduce a few exciting elements into your day. Getting away from old habits will depend entirely on what your routine is and what is holding you back. Moving through your normal pattern will help you pinpoint the moments when you might be able to make a change that matters.
Acknowledge Your Fears
In many situations, a comfort zone is developed due to a person’s fears or anxieties. Someone who is afraid to fly is probably going to go to extreme lengths to avoid ever getting on a plane. Since you can’t drive or walk everywhere, that person needs to learn to acknowledge the fear and learn how to move past it in order to see the world. Not everyone has such a clear fear, either. If you’re not sure what you’re specifically afraid of, it might require some intense introspection and soul-searching to uncover.
By acknowledging your fears, you can begin conquering them. This doesn’t mean you need to face a fear of heights by parachuting from a plane. Instead of being so bold and direct, focus on how and where these fears originated. This will help you discover healthy and practical ways of overcoming them. While not all of your anxieties will have simple solutions, this step can be crucial to your overall understanding of what you find comfortable.
Engage With a Stranger
It is easy to fall into a predictable routine when your interactions are limited to the same people each day. From family members to coworkers to the employees you encounter while running errands, familiar faces are everywhere you turn. To get out of your comfort zone a little bit, engage with a stranger. This will take a bit of discretion, of course. You don’t want to just walk up to a total stranger on the street and strike up a chat. Still, there are a number of appropriate scenarios in which you can turn someone you don’t know into a friend.
To live your best life involves opening yourself to life’s thrilling possibilities and perspectives. Remember that this shift won’t happen overnight. Take small steps to inch out of your comfort zone and find interesting ways to break routine. The more you try, the easier it will become to seize the day and take advantage of unique opportunities.