Comfort Zones: Tips + Mentalities
Last week we talked about why you should leave your comfort zone. But what about how?
Talking about doing something and why it’s beneficial is great, but means nothing if you don’t know how to go about it + actually taking action.
Below are mentality shifts and tips to help make leaving your comfort zone a little easier.
Mentality
Rob Dial from the Mindset Mentor podcast talks about how destroying your comfort zone means you’re progressing and becoming who you want to be. Your life cannot change if you don’t change. If you aren’t progressing, you’re regressing.
There really is no “staying in one place.” Two analogies he likes to use are: If you aren’t going forward, you’re going backward & you’re either green and growing or brown and dying. Comfort creates complacency and stagnation.
Jay Shetty from the On Purpose podcast stresses that you learn most in uncomfortable moments. Especially when your environment changes. Studies suggest that individuals who participate in a variety of experiences retain more positive emotions.
We learn when we go through new situations.
Jay explains a loop we go through when areas of our lives are stuck: casualness → comfort → complacency → crash.
Where are you seeing signs of casualness or comfort that you can start to disrupt? Interrupting this loop is the best thing you can do. Something needs to change.
The opposite of this journey looks like: curiosity → competence → crushing it.
You want to be crushing your life. Not crashing in it. There’s a one letter difference between crash and crush – and it’s ‘u.’
The last mentality shift I’d like to share is changing the words and phrases you use. For example: “I have always done it that way” and “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” These don’t foster the idea of expansion, learning or novelty.
Remind yourself that growth lies on the other side of an uncomfortable experience. Use positive, uplifting affirmations like: “I am ready for the next level,” “I can do hard things” and “I will not settle for less than I deserve.” HYPE YOURSELF UP.
Tips
The PositivePsycology.com article from last week contains a few tips that could deem useful. They suggest changing how you think about stress.
Did you know that the body can’t tell the difference between stress and excitement? Physiologically, they’re both a stress response. It’s how the mind perceives and labels them that creates negativity or positivity.
When you start to feel anxious, try telling yourself that you’re excited. This will interrupt the old pattern and shift the narrative. You’ll start to feel differently when trying new things.
Jay has two awesome tips I’d like to end on: set challenges, not goals & implement change.
What challenges are you setting for yourself? Setting challenges instead of goals makes the journey exciting. You begin to be competitive with yourself.
These should be things that make you feel uncomfortable yet thrilled.
Lastly, ask yourself: What in your day needs to change? What in your environment needs to change? Constant changing and adjustments will never let you settle.
Takeaways
“If you’re a ‘grown up,’ keep growing.” – Jay Shetty
Don’t get lost in dormancy; in the day to day. Try new things. Try hard things.
You can only grow when you challenge what you know. Go for a big dream or a small tweak. Something is always better than nothing.