Getting out of your Comfort Zone

Image by Darby Browning from Pixabay 

There’s an old Khmer saying that says:
បើគ្មានការតស៊ូក៏គ្មានការរីកចម្រើនដែរ។
bae kmean kar tsaou ka kmean kar rik chamreun der

“If there is no struggle, there is no progress”

In English, we might use this phrase:
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Both of these proverbs essentially mean that if we don’t engage in new experiences, we don’t gain new perspectives. We don’t make progress; we don’t grow.

From the ancient sailors who weathered storms to explore new lands to the modern digital entrepreneurs who’ve built remote online businesses, life continues to reward those who venture into the unknown. Why? Because they’re the ones who were willing to get uncomfortable.

Getting out of your comfort zone puts you in the growth zone. But it’s not always easy, is it? We like the familiar. We feel safe, secure, stable.

Growth takes movement and change. To go from where you are to where you want to be, you must do things you’ve never done before. And this can be a little scary.

What holds us back from going towards our dreams and making those changes that we really want? Let’s look at three things that keep us in our comfort zone.

1. Mindset – In our comfort zone, we don’t stretch ourselves. We’re not inspired or we think we can’t achieve what we dream of. We convince ourselves that where we are is good enough.
2. Fear – Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, even fear of uncertainty can hold us back as if our feet are stuck to the ground where we are standing. We may want to take that step forward but we just can’t seem to move. As we experience our own fears, we feel discouraged and shrink back even more.
3. Action – more precisely, inaction. Because we have the wrong mindset and our fears control us, we don’t even try to step forward out of our comfort zone.

Remember the proverb at the opening of this article?
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress”

It’s possible to move out of our comfort zone. Let’s look at the same three points but from a different perspective.

1. Mindset – A fixed mindset keeps us steady in one place. But it won’t lead us to growth. So, we need a mindset shift.

In her book, Mindset, Carol Dweck writes:
“…the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life.”

With a growth mindset, believe that you are capable of change and expansion , that you can improve with consistent effort.

2. Fear – Stop overthinking all the situations and work with your fear. Reframing fear into excitement can be very motivating instead of limiting. Lean into your fear and let it propel you forward.
3. Action – Yes, take action. It can start with one small step. But it is movement, and movement out of your comfort zone. You bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be with one small step at a time.

1 March 2023
By Patrice Catherine Pedjoe, M.A. Counselling (Psychotherapist)