Nobody likes going out of their comfort zone. It can be stressful and sometimes a little scary. Whether it’s fear of change, a social setting or maybe even the unknown, we all have areas that are uncomfortable for us to face. Yet, instead of avoiding these challenges, like we’re often inclined to do, we should be actively seeking them out.
The greatest benefit to going outside of your comfort zone is growing stronger as a person. You may still be uncomfortable in that scenario, but you allow yourself to learn from it and experience something new. Most of all, you gain confidence.
From my own experience, I was a fear-riddled child. There were so many things I was scared of, like the concept of change, and talking to people. I even hated going places by myself. For years, I avoided unpleasant situations, and I never really evolved much as person. However, once I reached an age where I couldn’t hide out from the world any longer, I experienced major growth. I overcame many of my fears and anxieties and grew to be incredibly tough on the inside.
Now, I actively seek out jobs, events and activities that scare me. It sounds a little crazy, but if the thought of doing something makes me uneasy or uncomfortable, I immediately have to do it. To me, it signifies an area I need to conquer or grow from.
This semester, you’re likely experiencing a lot of situations out of your comfort zone already. In fact, you’ll probably have just as many opportunities to put yourself in those situations, too. Go into those experiences looking to learn something. If you’re willing to develop as a person, you open yourself up to more growth. You don’t have to always be confident in yourself when embarking upon something, but by going out of your comfort zone, you build that confidence up.
A great personal challenge to set for yourself is to be actively seeking ways to grow and expand out of your comfort zone:
Does eating at a restaurant by yourself make you uneasy? Go do it.
How about attending a party where you don’t know anyone? Attend it anyway.
Maybe there’s a job that you’re a little scared of taking. Go for it. You’ll learn so much more instead of simply taking a safe and easy one.
A great way to put this into practice is by keeping a journal. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate journal — just something to record all the little challenges you’ve completed. Maybe you ended up eating at that restaurant all by yourself. Write it down, and describe how you felt before, during and after. The more you do the same activity over and over, the better potential for your feelings and confidence to positively change.
Once you have a system for your journal, set a practical goal and an overall goal. The practical goal is for how many challenges you want to take on. For instance, perhaps you want to tackle ten specific challenges/activities in a year. Once you’ve established your practical goal, then set your overall goal. The overall goal relates to who you want to be as a person by the end of the year. What do you want to achieve on a broader scale? Do you want to become more assertive? Charismatic? Fearless? These are all goals that will take immense time and numerous challenges to achieve, but the end result will be worth it.
Ultimately, feeling uneasy or scared of something is okay. Just make sure you face it head on. Moments of fear are opportunities to become better versions of ourselves. Don’t miss out on valuable opportunities to learn and evolve. Gain that confidence. Constantly challenge yourself through the semester and carry it over into the new year. You got this.