Trying new things can prove to be a great and memorable experience. It can be exhilarating to engage in new activities that pique your interest, especially in a world where so much of our time is devoted to things that don’t.
While intimidating at times, change is a healthy part of life, and switching things up can help you lead a more enriched, diversified lifestyle. Typically, alongside change comes stepping outside of your comfort zone.
What is Your Comfort Zone?
Your comfort zone is a collection of activities, atmospheres, etc., where you feel confident in your abilities. Generally speaking, staying within your comfort zone means the things you do aren’t personally challenging or are at least things you’re well-accustomed to.
Our comfort zones often help determine our daily routines, lifestyle choices, and the people with whom we spend the most time.
Breaking out of our comfort zones can prove difficult; completing tasks, meeting new people, or going to new places can be scary and might feel riskier.
Fortunately, there are many healthy and approachable ways to begin stepping outside your comfort zone, whether in your personal or professional life.
Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
There’s often a lot of value to take advantage of if you decide to step outside of your comfort zone; in fact, your steps can even be more of “baby steps” than far-reaching attempts to change your life.
Deciding when and how to push yourself is something that’s ultimately up to you. Still, some situations and techniques are easier to start with than others.
Brainstorm New Ideas
To help step outside of your comfort zone and promote a higher degree of mental wellness, it may help to brainstorm ideas for new activities.
You can brainstorm on your own or with friends, family members, or a significant other. It can be tremendously helpful to think of ideas for new journeys with the help of people who know you well.
Change Up Your Routine
Making changes to your daily routine promotes engaging in new activities. By switching your habits, your mindset may change drastically, allowing for changes in behaviors.
If you can’t come up with concrete ideas very easily, try and consider small ideas first. Identify some parts of your routine or some behaviors you might work on addressing.
For instance, you might decide to:
- Challenge yourself to make healthier food choices throughout the day
- Say hello to at least one new person a day
- Work to implement and maintain a consistent sleep schedule.
Reduce the Magnitude of Your Trusts
This step is easy, as all it requires is that you free up some more time for yourself. More time means more opportunities to try new things or otherwise change your day-to-day life.
How you’ll free up time in your day largely depends on your commitments. If you are a person who has employees who report to you, for instance, you might decide to delegate some of your work.
If you are a parent who takes care of your children, you could consider having someone trustworthy watch them for the night to give you some time to spare.
No matter what roles you fulfill, it helps to find ways to spend more time on yourself. It is challenging to step out of your comfort zone when you are too busy for new experiences.
Learn New Things
Learning more about topics can help you become interested in new hobbies.
For instance, gathering more information about fishing may inspire you to become a fisherman yourself!
Learning new things can also inspire you to push yourself in unique ways. Instead of just casually fishing on weekends, for instance, you might decide to take a fishing trip to a distant location where you have yet to explore.
Start Exercising
In order to change your state of mind and experience new things, you may find it is necessary to make physical changes.
One great way to achieve physical change while benefiting your health is to start an exercise program. You may choose to work out by yourself, or you can exercise with other people to keep you motivated.
Exercising with other people can help you stay committed to your workout plan and cultivate meaningful relationships.
Set Fear Aside
It is essential never to let fear rule your life, especially when trying new things.
Fear of commitment, fear of the unknown, and fear of failure can each decrease the likelihood of stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Facing fears head-on can help you branch out and explore things previously regarded as too scary.
Hone Your Skills
If you have a hobby you enjoy but would like to increase your commitment level, it may help to invest more time becoming more skilled.
As an example, if you enjoy playing tennis, it might be a good idea to spend more time playing or even pursue some form of tennis lessons. Once you become better at a hobby or sport, interest in it often increases.
Conclusion
No matter how you decide to go about stepping outside of your comfort zone, you’ll likely experience significant benefits from doing so.
Though it can be daunting to do things we’re not used to, these experiences are often the ones that shape and stick with us the most.
About the Author
Marie Miguel has been a writing and research expert for nearly a decade, covering a variety of health- related topics. Currently, she is contributing to the expansion and growth of a free online mental health resource with MyTherapist.com. With an interest and dedication to addressing stigmas associated with mental health, she continues to specifically target subjects related to anxiety and depression.
