When we were young, it was easy to embrace challenges, take risks, and push ourselves beyond our limits. At what point did many of us decide that it was easier to take the safe and comfortable road and live within our comfort zone?
For some, it was a steady diet of setbacks, loss, disappointments, disapproval, and hurts. For others, it was not living up to the expectations we set for ourselves that sent us into that fear-filled place that dulled our spirit and courage. Being willing to step outside and live at the end of your comfort zone once in a while, and take risks in life that are worth taking, expands your horizons, options, and opportunities for growth.
In an ever-increasingly competitive and fast-paced world, you have to force yourself to move out of your comfort zone to figure out what skill sets, perspectives, and strategies are necessary for you to accomplish challenging and specific goals that will lead to a competitive edge. Those who employ a strategy for living at the end of their comfort zone build self-confidence and develop inner strength and the belief that they can handle whatever life brings their way. Choosing to live beyond our comfort zone might not provide the most predictable ride, but it will certainly be a more interesting one, filled with less regret for the things we didn’t try.
Now is the time to move beyond your comfort zone and reacquaint yourself with the fearless child you once were. Here are some suggestions for pushing the limits and expanding possibilities:
- Challenge your assumptions, and let what inspires you to drive your choices instead of what scares you.
- Employ the risk/regret tipping point strategy. Ask yourself what you’ll regret more in three to seven years: the risk you took that didn’t work out or not taking the risk to pursue something meaningful or hard. If you’re like most people, over time, you’ll regret the “not trying” more than “not succeeding.” So just go for it!
- Build your endurance and gradually lean into moving beyond where you are today. Embrace longer moments of discomfort, and use the previous experience as a stepping-stone to the next one.
- Be in the moment and not focused on what might happen—we cannot do anything about what ifs, but we can certainly do something about what is.
- Embrace the concept of experimenting with actions and the possibility that failing will lead to opportunities to learn and correct course.
Are you ready to rediscover your youthful courage and start living at the end of your comfort zone? Let me know in the comments how you plan to live at the end of your comfort zone and what strategies you intend to employ.