6 Ways To Grow Your Comfort Zone

For several days, I was either walking or standing up, talking and connecting with people for at least a good 8 hours.

We promoted tools to help people develop clarity in a conference, and then I had a two-day workshop.  Days before that, I was also standing up, giving presentations, and connecting to people in meetings and events.

Needless to say, the introvert in me was exhausted.

And yet, I realized, how else could I grow and have greater stamina, if I didn’t push myself?  If I didn’t recognize and face the discomfort?

What are 6 ways you can to do grow your comfort zone, and grow?

 

Do something you’re afraid of.

Do something you’re afraid of, everyday.

Face your fear, get comfortable with it, break through it.

Fear is a signal that there’s something you’re uncomfortable with, for whatever reason.  It could be your past experiences, fear of not knowing, or just fear and dread of being in an uncomfortable situation.

Most especially, fear that’s getting in the way of something that we want to do and accomplish.  That’s the kind of fear I’m focusing on, and that we have to deal with.

I did cold-calling for one of the companies I consult for, and that scared the wits out of me.  There were days where I was shaking, my hands were sweating, at the thought of calling up strangers.

But soldier on, I did.  I just kept on going, and facing the fear, and slowly making a way to find comfort in that task.

Now, I’m still terrified of cold-calling.  But not like when I started.

What I did realize, was that I became more comfortable in face-to-face situations, especially when doing workshops, and speaking in front of an audience.

Inside of me, there was a voice, saying: “if cold-calling was that hard, and you were able to do it, how much more workshops and one-on-ones, where you enjoy more?”

That’s growth right there.

 

Embrace the suck.

This is a phrase that I learned from reading up articles about the Navy SEALS, and their training regimen.

They teach their recruits to “Embrace the Suck” – get comfortable with the uncomfortable, and embrace it.

Most recently, this meant standing up, having to talk to complete strangers, finding a connection with them, offering them products and services I believe could help them, through the pain of sore feet, a dry throat, and general social discomfort and fatigue, all while wearing a suit and tie.

It was uncomfortable, yes, but you learn to just find comfort and calm, and push on.

When I started going to the gym, I was a mess.  I didn’t know what to do, couldn’t lift heavy, was quickly out of breath, recovering from back injury, and outlifted by the middle aged woman who went there everyday.

That sucked.  Not only physically, but emotionally, as well.

But push on, and get comfortable with the pain, embarrassment, and suffering.

I had to learn to get comfortable with making mistakes, not finishing a rep, and looking like a fool in front of others.

So what?

Embrace the suck, and keep on moving forward.

 

Push yourself to do a little bit more, each time.

If we’re not growing, we’re dying.

Life doesn’t stay stagnant, it keeps on moving.

One day, you find yourself at the top.  If you stop, you won’t find yourself there for long.

And the only way for us to grow, is to keep on pushing, and doing.

I remember watching a seminar of Tony Robbins, and he asked:

“If you were doing 10 reps of an exercise, which rep would be the hardest?”

The answer, of course, is the tenth.

“Which rep would provide you with the most growth?”

The answer surprised me.

The eleventh.

It is when we push ourselves beyond what we believe we are currently capable of, that is when we experience growth.

Do something new.

Do something you’ve never tried before.

I remember the first time I started speaking in front of an audience, and how nerve-wracking that was.

Doing it the first time taught me so much, and exposed me to so many learnings and opportunities.

Doing something new takes you out of your comfort zone, and puts you back in the position of a beginner, a student, who has to figure out how to make things work again.

As you keep on growing, even the new experiences you can take, and consciously do, can be subtle as well.

Now, as I do workshops, and speak in public, I’m constantly trying new things, experimenting, all the while, developing more and more comfort speaking in public, and just being with people.

Do something new, try new things, experiment.

 

Talk to new people, and get to know them.

Each and every one is unique, with their own experiences and success.

As well as their own mistakes, failures, and comeback stories.

Talk to new people who have found success in the areas that you want success in, and get to know them, and what they did, to be able to achieve what they have.

Get to learn what motivates, what drives people, and what’s important for them.

We always have to work with people, and the sooner we get comfortable talking to new people, getting to know them, and possibly, getting to know them really well, the sooner we grow our comfort zone, and achieve what matters.

This also means communicating what you mean to them, as well as asking them questions.  Possibly deep, reflective, and hard questions.

But it is those questions, that curiosity, that will uncover clues on how to grow your comfort zone, from the stories and experiences of those who have already done so.

 

Keep going through boredom

There are times when we’re bored, and we feel so dry and lifeless, that what we’ve been doing over and over again feels stale.

That’s also a sign to grow your comfort zone.

Boredom is also a sign of discomfort, and it’s telling us something.

It can be several things, actually.

We could be looking for instant results, which doesn’t happen.  Results come from being faithful to the process, and doing the work day in and day out.

We could be looking for an escape from the discomfort, and as such, boredom is a sign for us to keep on going, and to face our fears, and break through obstacles.

Be aware of this.  This is the kind of boredom that stops us from getting what we want, not the type of boredom that’s telling us to do something else.

At first, I found it boring to write 2 articles weekly.  What was I going to write about?

But as I kept pushing through the boredom, writing became easier and easier.

As you keep getting better, and keep pushing for growth and trying new things, the boredom goes away.

It gets replaced by growth.

 

Grow your comfort zone.

Face your fear.

Do something new.

Learn from other people.

Push to do more, even a little at a time.

Keep doing through boredom.

Embrace the suck.

The only way to handle problems easier, is to become a bigger person than your problems.

The only way to do that is to grow.

The more comfortable you are in a variety of situations, with uncertainty, risk, doubt, as well as with gratitude, joy, and acceptance, the more you’ll be able to accomplish.

We’re all works in progress.

Keep growing.

 

How do you get out of your comfort zone?  Please share in the comments below!