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Stepping into your new zone     

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Stepping out of the comfort zone into the fear zone takes courage, with resilience and perseverance one can enter the learning and growth zones Photo – lifehack.org

“Step out of your comfort zone”, an expression we hear frequently and to be frank it isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. Often, we view our comfort zone as this circular barrier where we are protected and content, but it is time we evolve past this perspective and realise the potentials that often lie beyond this zone.

Complacency is quite common when it comes to an individual’s comfort zone, as they feel they don’t need to go further than this. Tamara Duval – psychology major and educator- describes our comfort zone as “a comfort zone as a place of familiarity, one that you would feel safe in and where you have a sense of control”.

An individual’s comfort zone is often linked to their anxiety and stress levels. One’s comfort zone is considered a point where one’s anxiety is at a low level. Stepping out of your comfort zone would heighten your stress levels as it is something out of your control. Therefore, most people find it difficult to step out of their comfort zones.

“You [know] that saying, rather the devil I know than the one I don’t … That’s exactly it. You get comfortable in what you know, your belief and understanding of what you know and how you have dealt with trials that may come your way. So why put yourself in an unfamiliar setting or environment which could have the potential to be more harmful than that comfort zone you are in,” said Duval.

If stepping out of your comfort zone seems like such a daunting task, why should one do it? The comfort zone is just the first zone in the process of improving our abilities and potential. It is followed by the fear zone, the learning zone, and the growth zone. Duval described this as a necessary route when stepping out of your comfort zone.

“To move out of this comfort zone we experience the fear zone, where we make excuses, lack self-confidence, and are affected by others’ opinions. The next step we experience is the learning zone, which is where we acquire new skills, deal with challenges and problems and step out of the comfort zone. The final stage that occurs is the growth zone, where we find purpose, set new goals, conquer objectives, and essentially live our dreams,” explained Duval.

To step out of your comfort zone is not a straightforward process that many may believe it to be. Tips that you should remember when going through this process is that you firstly re-imagine stress by removing the negative connotation. Stress is known to stimulate energy. Secondly, we need to develop a growth mindset that constantly focuses on the ability to grow your mind when faced with challenges. Thirdly, reorganize your priorities as some areas require you to step out of your zone more than others and being able to recognize this is crucial. Lastly, don’t rush into it because stepping out of your comfort zone doesn’t mean moving fast and recklessly, taking small steps is just as important to the process.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is multi-faceted, meaning there isn’t only one way to step out of the zone, one can do this through taking a new approach to the way one gets things done, grow your professional capabilities, workout or increase the intensity to your workouts, attempt to go on a diet, express yourself more creatively, challenge your norms and beliefs and be open to introspection.

A popular quote that is used when taking risks is, “If you never try, you’ll never know what you’re capable of”. The same applies when stepping out of your comfort zone.

“It definitely wasn’t an easy decision to make to move away from family and friends, my comfort, my safety net. But I wanted more for myself, and I knew I was not going to experience that while in my comfort zone,” says Duval who took the risk to move overseas to pursue her passions in teaching.

“I was fearful of my own ability to make it out across the world on my own. Yes, it was not easy to make the decision to be on my own miles away from that comfort zone, but I have grown. I have learnt so much about myself that I would not have, had I chosen to be stuck in the comfort zone. Change is never easy but it sure was worth it”.

Stepping out of your comfort zone is not about trying to increase your anxiety and stress levels, but it is about recognizing that leaving this zone is a step closer to finding purpose, setting new goals, conquering objectives, and living our dreams.

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