Commit to doing at least one thing that is out of your comfort-zone per week.
Think of your comfort-zone as a muscle. Just like each day at the gym, you muscles grow larger, the principle is true for your comfort-zone. Each time you step outside of your comfort-zone, you stretch it. Each time you stretch your comfort-zone, it becomes that much larger. However, like a muscle, if you don’t consistently train it, your comfort zone will shrink back to the way it was before.
In psychology, there is a type of therapy called exposure therapy. If, for example, you suffer from a fear of snakes, a therapist would begin by showing you pictures of snakes. At first, you may dislike looking at these pictures, but eventually with enough exposure, you will become comfortable around the pictures. Then the therapist might show you a real snake inside of a cage. At first, this will be uncomfortable, but with enough exposure, you will become comfortable. This process will continue until you are finally able to hold a snake in your hand. The process requires consistent exposure to the stimulus that makes you uncomfortable—or in other words, you must consistently step outside of your comfort-zone.
Therefore, stepping outside of your comfort-zone shouldn’t be thought of as a one-time thing, but rather as a consistent process that happens over and over again. The more time you spend challenging yourself, the better you will feel about being outside of your comfort-zone.
By doing this consistently, you will begin to live with more courage than ever before. This will be tough at first, but will get easier the more you do it.
Written by Marc Wayshak, Boston sales speaker
