Venturing Outside Your Comfort Zone

Learning and growing doesn’t end when we leave school or university. It is a life-long journey that allows us to acquire not just knowledge but also skills and attitudes. It is a journey that continually takes us out of our comfort zone, allowing us to address our fear of stepping into the unknown and being open to new experiences.

When we stay inside our comfort zone, we feel safe and in control of our lives. However, this is a place of low risk and low reward. We don’t really grow but rather remain in a static place. All of us spend time in this comfort zone but it is when we venture outside of it that we start to experience and absorb new ideas and new ways of living.

To move from our comfort zone to our learning zone, we usually need to move through fears that we hold within ourselves. Those fears are often fuelled by low self-confidence which means we find excuses why we can’t do something or we allow ourselves to be affected by others opinions and don’t follow what feels right to us.

But once we move through these fears we can experience a wealth of learning. We allow ourselves to face challenges, to problem solve, to acquire new skills and by doing this we extend our comfort zone by absorbing all that we have learnt. We find that we set new goals or create new dreams that once again challenge us to move outside of our comfort zone, through our fear and into the realm of learning and growing.

Living this way helps us to adapt to our ever changing world and also encourages our personal growth. As we expand our horizons and realise that we are far more capable than we realise, we learn to trust our own abilities and to shine our own personal light on the world.

There are many ways that we can continue to learn and grow throughout our lifetime and each person will take the course that most suits their personality and situation. However, these are some areas that you might want to consider if you are feeling stuck or would like to expand your comfort zone.

1. Do what makes you feel good. Whether it is reading books, playing sport, attending workshops or interacting with people, following your passion will help you stay motivated to grow.
2. Manage your mindset. Instead of allowing your mind to bring up all the reasons why you can’t approach a new project or situation, allow yourself to be open to the possibilities that you can do something new or learn a new way of doing things. Don’t let you mind stop you from stepping forward into a new challenge.
3. Try new things. This is a great way to learn and grow and it doesn’t necessarily need to be something big. Every small step you take in a new direction creates new patterns of thinking and allows new possibilities to emerge.
4. Gather information through online resources or books. Taking courses online which may not be available to you in person and listening or reading about others experiences can expand your horizon. And by reading across a wide range of subjects you will broaden your knowledge and give you a wider view of the world you live in.
5. Build a network. When you surround yourself with others who are pushing their own boundaries, you will feel inspired to challenge yourself. Building a network of people who are learning and growing in their own way will encourage you to stay motivated as you move forward.
6. Volunteer. This is a great way to meet a wide range of people while giving back to your community. It can help you to learn many new skills and different ways of communicating what you know to help others.

All learning, no matter how it is achieved, allows us to grow into who we truly are. It allows us to find purpose in our lives and perhaps to live our dreams. Only by continuing this process can we expand both our world view and who we are personally.

~ Barbara Hand