Posted on December 12, 2014 by Luke | CATEGORIES: Community Posts
You’ve probably been told to start thinking outside of the box at some point in your life. You’ve also likely been encouraged to get outside of your comfort zone so that you can stretch your horizons and explore the world.
Our comfort zones are an important place that we can go for safety and security, but problems can arise if we don’t get outside the box from time to time.
Warmth and familiarity happen within your comfort zone. Adventure happens when you’re outside of your comfort zone. These two concepts work together.
You cannot maximize your creativity or enjoy an adventure to its fullest extent unless you’re willing to dance in both worlds.
Why Do We Stick to Our Comfort Zones?
It always boils down to fear. Humans are fearful creatures. This is why we have a fight or flight complex. What we don’t know scares us. Anything that is outside of our comfort zone is unknown. Therefore anything that is outside of our comfort zone is also pretty scary.
Why choose to be scared when we can choose to be comfortable on a daily basis?
Strangely enough, a life without anxiety is a life that really isn’t worth living. We need to have a tinge of fear within our souls every day in order to stay productive.
Without this fear, we would have no reason to meet a deadline. We would have no reason to provide a quality end result.
Without fear, we would never complete a difficult task.
We would stay within our comfort zones, become couch potatoes, and ultimately wind up watching the same television channel every day because we were too scared to get up in case we missed something.
In essence, we would be nothing without a little anxiety. It’s just important to keep that anxiety under control.
Uncertainty and Panic Are Two Very Different Creatures
Have you ever had a panic attack? For those who suffer from this condition, anxiety is a normal part of life. The only problem is that there are times when fears are spiraling out of control.
Having a level of uncertainty is a good thing because it drives progress. Having panic is not a good thing because it signals that we are out of control, either willingly or unwillingly.
Panic attacks can be triggered by anything. We can control the exposure levels that we have to triggers, however, to some extent.
This is why getting outside the comfort zone is such a critical component of life. The more we are exposed to uncertainty, the better able we are to resist the urge to panic when everything feels like it is out of control. It’s a lot like getting used to the cold of winter.
When summer transitions into the colder months, we shiver when temperatures begin to dip. Once we get used to the colder temperatures, we become miserable when summer rolls around again, right?
Life is always about adjustments. The adventure of being outside of our comfort zones allows us to learn how to adjust more quickly to the evolving circumstances that life brings.
How Can You Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone?
There aren’t any steps to take when it comes to making the effort of breaking out of your comfort zone. There’s just one thing to do: make the choice to do so. You will either choose to leave the areas of familiarity that you enjoy every day or you will choose to stay there.
If you do make the choice to break out, there are some specific advantages that will come your way.
- You will get to experience new things. The human body rewards us whenever we encounter new, enjoyable things. The dopamine that the brain produces creates an internal reward that is triggered every time we learn something new. You can’t learn new things in your comfort zone, so you can’t get these internal rewards unless you leave it.
- You will get to expand your horizons. There are some incredible experiences and flavors that are sprinkled throughout the world today. Some of these could become your new favorite things in life! Unless you’re willing to take a chance and experience them firsthand, you won’t ever find out what the world has waiting for you.
- You will start to eliminate your self doubt. One of the most damaging elements that humans do to themselves is negative self talk. This negativity originates from our inability to free ourselves from our comfort zones. By taking on an adventure and finding contentment within the challenges that adventure can bring, the self-doubt we have can be eliminated. Growth can be achieved.
Are You Ready to Break Out Today?
If you are tired of letting fear control your life, then you are ready to make the choice to break out of your comfort zone today. That is the first step that must be taken on a journey that makes life unpredictable… but also exciting!
As you are making this choice, you will also find something a bit unusual will begin to occur. Your comfort zone will begin to expand! That’s the nature of new habits.
When we become familiar with new tasks, new ideas, or new experiences, then we become comfortable with them. That comfort is then incorporated into a larger comfort zone.
This is why adventure and creativity work hand-in-hand.
You don’t have to push the boundaries to the most extreme limits available to you to make your comfort zone larger. Sometimes baby steps are more important than a running leap!
If you have allowed yourself to be confined within your comfort zone for far too long, then take things slow and easy. Do something that is new, but still familiar enough that it won’t trigger panic.
In doing so, you will build up that resistance inside your soul a little more so that the next time you step out of your comfort zone, you can do a little more adventuring.
You don’t have to be afraid of fear. You can use fear to your advantage! The adventure of life allows each of us to have a comfort zone that extends further than the eye can see.
If you are ready to experience everything this world has to offer, then it is time to break down the walls of your comfort zone once and for all.
What do you say? Are you ready to break free from your comfort zone?
No comments:
Post a Comment