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Have you ever wondered how some people achieve the greatest heights of success while others remain trapped in mediocrity throughout their entire lives? Why is it that only some get to taste the highest levels of success while the others, despite their consistent efforts do not? All these people, whom you call achievers have one thing in common, they never settled for anything less than the best, whether it meant for them to leave the comforts and the good life. If you want to achieve the impossible, it is essential first to lose the love for comfort.
Why the comfort zone is bad for you
For most people, their ultimate goal is to lead a comfortable life. All their hard work and efforts are directed towards achieving a comfortable and easy lifestyle. Their goal is to earn enough money so as not to have to worry about the different needs of life and rightly so. Until you have the bare necessities of life there will be less focus on fulfilling bigger things. However, if you view your life in hindsight it would be easy to realize that the biggest accomplishments came when you were completely out of your comfort zone. The parts of the life when you decided that enough is enough, and decided to leave all the comforts behind were the parts where you grew, either in your career or personal life.
Comfort is the enemy of growth. As soon as you start sliding into the comfort zone, you become averse to risks and get satisfied with the status quo. This makes you blind to many outstanding opportunities which then go to some other person who makes the most of them. Sure, you might be doing well for yourself right now, but if you get comfortable with ‘good enough, chances are you will never rise beyond and become great.
People who become comfortable with their surroundings let go of opportunities to explore the unknown. For instance, an employee who has adapted to a particular company’s work culture made some good friends there, and is satisfied with what he is paid will rarely think twice before letting go of a chance to sit for an interview with another company. The reasons are simple enough, he or she will find it uncomfortable to adjust to a new environment, make new friends and work under a new boss. All these things will make him anxious, and anxiety is not a pleasant feeling. That employee will always crib about how slow his career growth is but won’t accept that it’s his love for the comfort zone, which is preventing him from taking things to the next level. Sure, there is risk involved, but how often in your life have you accomplished something substantial without taking any real risk? Chances are; not very often.
Failure is a discomforting thought but that’s the trigger of success. Until you do not risk failing, you will not put the effort to face the unexpected. Although no one wants to remain anxious perennially, we often need a little bit of anxiety to push us and improve our performance.
How to get out of your comfort zone?
The only thing that holds you back from achieving the impossible is your affinity for comfort. You need to step out and break the convention. There are several ways you can step outside your comfort zone and grow beyond the self-created boundaries.
1. Review and revise your daily routine
The first thing that you need to change is your daily routine which was made to suit your current lifestyle. Until or unless you make changes to this routine, it will not be easy to push yourself to step out of the realm of comfort. Initially, it need not be a very big change, as even subtle differences can be enough to initiate a shift in your perspective. When these small changes become a habit, you can easily push for the bigger goals.
2. Take baby steps towards your goal
Maybe you are tired of your bully boss and want to get a new job somewhere else but are too lazy to try. Maybe the thought of a new environment, new colleagues, and a new boss makes you anxious. However, if you want to achieve your goal you need to start with small steps toward achieving it. It could be either reaching out to people in your professional networks, getting acquainted with them on various public forums, upgrading your work-related skills, or enhancing your ability to communicate effectively. All these are small steps towards achieving the required confidence to face any situation, any boss, or any colleague at your new workplace.
3. Do not be afraid of failures
Whatever the outcome, look forward to it. Our biggest enemy is the fear of failure which keeps us from crossing the self-created boundaries. However, if you want to achieve something you should go for it regardless of the result. Getting out of the comfort zone was never about succeeding the very first time, it was more about getting rid of your fear of failure, and allowing yourself to grow, no matter what the initial outcome may be.
4. Try new things, Meet new people
Doing new things opens up minds to new perspectives and ways of thinking that we might not have considered earlier. Similarly, meeting new people broadens our horizons and introduces us to new methods of achieving the same thing. Sometimes, it’s not what we do, but how we do it that makes the whole difference. Listening to stories of other people will certainly reduce the anxiety associated with exploring the unknown and provide the required inspiration.
