Breaking Free from Comfort Zone: A Journey Towards Personal Growth
“What limits us to be great is, US”
The most common impediment to breaking out of your comfort zone is often ourselves. An even bigger barrier is not taking any action to overcome them because we are too comfortable.
Comfort and Familiarity – The Barrier to Change
Familiarity brings sense of ease and comfort. It’s easy to navigate through something that we are familiar with. Living in your comfort zone is comforting, at the same time it brings stagnation to our lives as we miss out in exploring new possibilities to live up to our full potential.
“Any change, even a change for better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts” Arnold Bennett
Most of us are living the same life day in day out, wanting to change our reality and yet doing nothing about it. Years go by being stuck in our comfort zone blaming people and situations for us not taking any action.
We keep waiting for that ideal state or that perfect moment that will give a boost to bring about that change we so desperately desire. It’s a constant chaos between wanting to do something and not doing it.
The truth is that there will be no ideal moment and above all blaming people and situations won’t help. It’s easy to fall into the trap of delaying it till tomorrow. Delaying it for tomorrow will always look like a better option than taking actions now!
Why we stay stuck in our comfort zone
Many of us struggle with the challenge of stepping out of our comfort zone. Prefer to stick to with what is comfortable and familiar. Often we find ourselves at a crossroads and we choose the known and the most common path because:
- Lack clarity – Having no clear vision and drifting aimlessly through life, stuck in routines and patterns
- Self-doubt – Insecurities about self and our capabilities
- Fear – Fear of unknown, rejection making it difficult for you to take risks
- Beliefs – Limiting beliefs about who we are and the world around us
All these are habit formed over the years. As a result we delay, procrastinate, overthink, get anxious etc.
We do this subconsciously and we don’t want to accept that giving excuses to ourselves and others. Excuses like:
- Have too much on our plate, too busy
- Haven’t got the time or the bandwidth
- Will do it tomorrow
- It’s too late
- Don’t know what to do
We justify it as time crisis but it is energy crisis. Spending more time and energy justifying our inaction than figuring out how to change our reality.
Accepting the way things are is one of the simplest ways out. That is also not possible because our monkey mind brings those thoughts back again and again.
Transformation doesn’t happen by thinking or talking about it. Transforming your reality requires:
- A strong will along with conviction to change your reality
- Having clarity and above all taking actions towards living the life you envisioned.
Each one of us has the potential to do things beyond what we believe we can, but end up living within our comfort zones
We don’t take actions to challenge the status quo, so we never realize the immense possibilities. As a result, that potential to be better than what we are right now, remains underutilized.
Reminds me of my days in a corporate job few years back. I realized that this is not what I am supposed to be and yet I accepted my “As Is” reality because it was comfortable. Money was good and flowing, had stuff most of which I didn’t need. Beyond that:
- Nobody was complaining
- Familiarity and security
- Low risk
- Didn’t need to challenge my status quo
- Habits
Everything was fine except nothing felt fulfilling and satisfying. I was stuck in the daily routines and patterns and actually It was a drag. Adding no value whatsoever to my life and the job.
I knew I could do better and yet I was accepting whatever was coming my way.
Cutting it short, I was sleepwalking through my life.
“Status quo is the most comfortable state”
It’s comfortable but not beneficial. Being in that state you are limiting your ability and your potential to be your best self.
I dared to change all that knowing that I was wasting my potential by doing things that I was not passionate about. Since then its been and amazing journey doing things which I could never imagine.
It was not a cake walk and I was afraid.
It’s OK to be afraid. There are immense possibilities out there to explore.
“Your capability is not limited to what you think you can.”
Steps to transform your reality and break free from your comfort zone
If you want to transform your reality then you need to:
Acknowledge
That this is not the life you want to live and there’s more to life than settling with what you have. Hold yourself accountable for taking actions. You need to commit to your transformation journey. This is the first step towards breaking out of your comfort zone and your journey to a life you desire.
Gain clarity
Gain clarity of your aspirations, purpose and what you are passionate about. Reflect on your passion and your purpose in life. Understand what drives you and things that matter to you. It’s hard pursuing something when you don’t have clarity on what you are after.
Actions
Develop the habit of taking actions NOW!. One of the major obstacles is procrastinating or delaying things and actions. It is preventing you in reaching your goals. It’s a habit and you need to break if you want to step out of your comfort zone. Your dreams and aspirations will stay as they are unless you take actions to fulfil those. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small, all it takes it one action to start your transformation journey.
Consistency
Be consistent. If you want to start you need to commit and if you want reach the goals you need to be consistent. You don’t need to take big steps, take small steps but be consistent, build momentum and keep moving forward.
Impediments
Understand and manage your impediments that are holding you back. Usually it is you yourself doubting your abilities resulting in fixed mindset that is limiting your growth. You can manage your impediments only if you have awareness of same. Be open to change and develop a growth mindset.
Improvise and Adapt
Don’t get too caught up in the end result; instead, improvise and adapt along the way. It is not enough to have clear goals; it is also necessary to be flexible and adaptable. Things will not always go as per planned, and you will have to improvise along the way. You must be resilient to withstand and recover quickly. You never know this might open up new possibilities.
Support
Take support if you have to, having an accountability partner helps. Having someone to hold you accountable can boost your motivation. It’s important to get constant feedback. Find a friend, a coach who doesn’t need to guide you, but just support you in your journey. Taking support doesn’t mean that you are inadequate of finding your own answers.
And while you are doing this don’t forget to celebrate each success. Doesn’t matter if it’s a small or big success as it’s a step forward.
It will take a lot of energy and time, and you got to stick with it to keep the momentum going.
Remember it’s a journey of your exploration of self and you never know what you might uncover.
Ready to break out of your comfort zone and start living the life you desire? Take the first step towards your transformation journey now!
Conclusion: The Potential to Be Better Than You Are
In conclusion, transformation is possible if we acknowledge that we need to take action, gain clarity, develop the habit of taking action, be consistent, and manage our impediments. It’s time to step out of our comfort zones and start living the life we envision. Remember, our capabilities are not limited to what we think we can do. Let’s dare to change and explore the immense possibilities that lie ahead.
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