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How do you push through your comfort zone to develop personally and professionally? This is a crucial question, because there is no growth in the comfort zone. We like to feel safe, at ease and in control. But when we operate within self-imposed limitations, we fall short of reaching our human potential. We fail to learn new skills, grow and innovate.
Growth and development take place when we are stretched and move beyond what’s comfortable. There are many strategies for stepping out of our comfort zone, but the most important factor is our mindset. Developing the right frame of mind is the main challenge. Once you have this, everything else will follow.
Here are some ways to develop a mindset that will support your growth:
1. Counter Mental Barriers
Let’s say you would like to take a professional certification exam, but keep pushing the whole thing off, because you’re afraid of failing. Such thoughts if left unchecked will stop you from leaving your comfort zone. If you think you’ll fail, you won’t be motivated to prepare for the exam. One way to counter such limiting thoughts is to use the positive self-talk method and examine the evidence. For example, you can tell yourself:
It’s not possible to fail. No matter what happens I will learn something and grow, so it’s worth a try. There are many times when I was successful in the past. This shows I’m able to reach my goals.
Here are some other articles I’ve published that are helpful for dealing with unproductive thoughts and beliefs:
- Reframing how you think about challenging situations to be energized and bring about positive change
- Identifying limiting beliefs you may not even know you have and countering them
- Developing confidence in your ability to reach your goals
- List of common negative thinking patterns and how to counter them
2. Associate Your Comfort Zone with Something Undesirable: Remember There is No Growth in the Comfort Zone
If you begin to associate your comfort zone with something that is undesirable, you’ll want to leave it.
For example, I think of my comfort zone as something that holds me back. For me, my comfort zone is dangerous, because it makes me passive and ill prepared for change. I am reminded there is no growth in the comfort zone.
I did my job well for a number of years, but realized I was stagnant, neither learning new skills nor staying up-to-date in my field. This scared me, so I recently decided to do a master’s program in Digital Marketing. It was challenging to complete along with my family commitments and full-time job. However, it was also enriching and worth the “discomfort”.
3. Think About the Process of Growth as Something Positive
The process is hard, sometimes even grueling. It includes all the little steps you take to reach your goals. It also includes your failures along the way as well as times of disappointment. However, it’s through the process that you begin to grow and make steady progress towards your goals. If we learn to see the process as something positive, we’ll be more prone to make the necessary sacrifices to reach our goals.
The process is great, not because it’s always fun, but because it gets me the results I want. For example, I don’t really like going jogging, but I like the benefits jogging has on my health. Hence going jogging is positive 🙂
4. Realize Genuine Growth Takes Time: There is No Growth in the Comfort Zone
Aim to grow in a sustainable and steady way. Sometimes we try to attain great results in a very short time, but end up quitting, because we’re disappointed with our progress – things didn’t turn out as we expected.
It’s good to be ambitious, but aim to be consistent, not perfect. Keep pushing yourself little by little. Always try to make progress, even if it’s just 1% a day. Little improvements end up making a big difference over time. Genuine growth takes time and that’s ok!
If you need some professional assistance in stepping out of your comfort zone, feel free to reach out here. Through targeted coachings and trainings, you can build a mindset that will support your personal and professional development.
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