Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone Into The Realm Of Possibility
Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t easy. But there’s good news. You don’t have to go way out of it to benefit from it. Making it to the edges of your comfort zone and stretching it just a bit or stepping out just over the edges or outer limits is all it takes. I like to call this area the “Realm of Possibility”. It’s the area of “what if I took just one more step”, of doing a little something that scares you, of taking baby steps that will eventually add up to big change.
We’ll dive a little deeper into what this realm of possibility is and how you can use it to step out of your comfort zone. For now, just imagine it as a grey area or transition piece between doing what you’re comfortable with and what you know well and doing something completely new and scary.
Here’s a good example. Let’s say you’re comfortable at your current job and you know how to do every single aspect of it very well. It’s a steady paycheck that brings a lot of financial security and peace of mind. Eventually though, you would like to be in business for yourself and become your own boss. You want to launch a freelancer career and work from home, but right now that’s way out of your comfort zone.
Start by doing a little work on the side. Get your first client and work in the evenings and on the weekends. Start to get comfortable freelancing and start building your client base and your income. Eventually taking the leap to quit your job and freelance full-time won’t be as scary because you’ve slowly but surely started to expand your comfort zone into the realm of possibility.
This is what I did back in 2010. I started working part-time building my business while working full-time. I quit my day job in 2011 and have been working on my own since then.
Or what if you’re tired of being overweight and out of shape. You want to work out but the thought of going to the gym scares you to death. Start by doing some workouts at home, or even going for a daily walk. Find a workout buddy, so that when you’re ready to check out a local gym, you don’t have to do it alone.m
You may want to find a personal trainer to go with you and create a workout program for you. Research local gyms and find one that makes you feel more comfortable. If you’re a woman, you may feel more comfortable and welcome in a women’s only gym for example.
Do what it takes to inch your way closer to the day when you will step into a gym and start working out.
I could continue on and on with these examples. We don’t have to completely jump out of our comfort zone and into something completely different and scary. It’s an option, but it’s not a necessity.
When it comes to public speaking, you can start off with Toastmasters where you will have the opportunity to watch and listen before you have to begin to speak, but when you do begin, you start off by telling the group a little about yourself. That opens up opportunities for others in the group to identify with you or to ask you questions about some of the things you have revealed, thus helping you relax and communicate.
We can bring about a lot of meaningful change and create some wonderful possibilities for ourselves by expanding on and stepping out of the edge of our comfort zone. With that said, let’s take a closer look at this “realm of possibility” and how we can start to tap into it in the next post.
To stepping out of your comfort zone!
Fran Watson
P.S. Are you using your Journal to keep track of your progress?