Issue #49: From Comfort to Growth
Learn about stepping out of your comfort zone and how to face your fears
Dear mental health advocate,
Do you like feeling safe and staying right where you are? You are not the only one. But you probably also have goals you want to achieve. In today’s free edition of The Present Psychologist Paper I will explain how you can take some steps out of your comfort zone and get to growth. Only if you want to of course!
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Stepping Out Your Comfort Zone
As it is the new year already for a few weeks, I have been wanting to ask you a question. Are you able or willing to step out of your comfort zone this year? Maybe you have already thought about it, maybe you have not. As humans, we often enjoy staying right where we are. We like having a sense of control, are scared of the unknown and prefer things to be like they have always been. You can call it resistance to change. Makes it quite difficult right? Because the only constant is change in our lives. You would think we’d be better at it. True, there are some differences. Some of us are more open to new experiences and uncertainty than others.
There’s of course nothing wrong with your preferences. It can well be that you are more wired one way than the other. However, I’d still like to do an exercise with you. Think about your resistance to change and your current situation. Do you like the way things are? Are you being challenged? Do you want to achieve certain things that you do not have yet? The interesting part is that many of us do not like change, but at the same time we do like to have more things and grow in our life. To get there, we need to invest in ourselves and take action. It’s not a walk in the park, but nothing ever is, right? In today’s article I am showing you how to properly step out of your comfort zone.
From comfort to growth
There’s this great overview of how your comfort zone can be a great place, but where you can be stuck for a long time if you do not know how to focus on your achievements. To get to a place of growth, it requires some pains and effort. There’s a road to go on, which leads you often through several phases. Frequently, this order is quite similar. It goes from the comfort zone, to the fear zone, learning zone and ultimately the growth one. Each of these have their own characteristics, which is mainly based on your behavior and feelings. I’ll try to explain them all:
Comfort zone: in this phase you are in complete control. There’s this matter of having low risks, because you keep doing what you know. You feel safe and relaxed and stuck in your routine.
Fear zone: you took some steps, but you are not really confident yet. You are new to stepping out, and you still see things as a problem. You are making excuses and can be influenced by others.
Learning zone: you feel like you are getting more confident. You are learning, spotting new opportunities, taking on challenges. There are all these problems that you actually want to fix.
Growth zone: you are thriving. You have set new goals, have high self-esteem and feel motivated to do things different. There’s this new kind of vision that you have found, or even purpose.
How do I get out of my comfort zone?
It is definitely easier said than done to move away from your safe place. It does take a lot of effort. But believe me when I say that it is completely worth it. Life can be scary, yes. However, it can also be beautiful and full of amazing things. Only if you dare to dream and start chasing them. Growth does not happen without growing pains, which is what makes it beautiful. If you want to know how to take these first steps, remember to apply some of the following:
Take it one step at a time. You can’t go from A to Z in a split second. It takes energy and investment.
Surround yourself with positivity. There are people willing to support you. Find those that energize you.
Create habits. Try to incorporate these small steps in routines that work for you.
Be aware of your fears. There will be moments when you will be scared or anxious. That’s pretty normal.
If you fail, keep on going. Things might not always work the first time. Tenacity is the answer.
Think about the end goal. There are steps to take in between, but try to keep the vision.
Write down milestones. Motivate yourself by picking moments when you feel you’ve achieved something. And celebrate them.
Join forces. There are others out there with similar goals. Work together to get where you want to be.
Small exposure helps. Try to get familiar with the new situation step by step by confronting yourself with it.
So, are you ready to step out of your comfort zone?
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Sometimes people send me DMs and emails asking me if I sell posters for some of my posts. Mainly these requests have come from people working in an office or as school teachers. While it is hard to set up a print shop with physical deliveries as you all live in different countries, I decided to start with posters that can be bought as digital downloads in high resolution quality. You can then go to your local print shop and customize them how you want.
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My name is Alf Lokkertsen and I am a psychologist and writer, creating mental health content for you. My passion is to raise awareness about topics related to psychology, as it has helped me greatly in my personal life. I strongly believe that many problems could be avoided or dealt with better if everyone had some in-depth psychology knowledge.
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I love this poster (& your excellent writing). So often, emotions are framed as positive or negative. Your framing allows for a much more nuanced and empowered response to feelings which, while not pleasant, are to be embraced and explored.