It is important to realize that our comfort zone is a trap as it keeps us from growing and learning. Because we are so comfortable within our comfort zone we repel anything that takes us beyond it, including success and wealth. Here are five secrets that will help you master your comfort zone:
1. “I Know It All” is a symptom
One of the strong pull that keeps us within our comfort zone is our extreme comfort with our thoughts. At any given point we are strongly and emotionally attached to our ideas. We all feel strongly that our beliefs are right. But successful people are more open. They are always willing to challenge their own ideas and treat them as mere hypothesis that need testing and proving. The first step to be able to step out of our comfort zone is to create a distance between our ideas and our egos. This allows us to view our ideas dispassionately, not feeling threatened when they need revision.
2. You can grow only from the outside of the comfort zone
There is familiarity and coziness inside the comfort zone. But be careful. This coziness is a trap. Hanging out with familiar friends, tuning into the same channels whose ideas resonate with yours, working in the same areas where you have expertise: all this is fine, but keep in mind it could be something that may be holding you back. The only way to grow out of your comfort zone is to step outside it. Which means you have to be able to become uncomfortable. You should be able to handle unfamiliar situations, explore uncomfortable ideas, deal with strangers, and go to unknown places.
3. Stress prevents us from venturing out
The reason why many choose to stay within the familiar is because the unfamiliar raises stress levels. If stress levels are already high, this is not something that can be done easily. In such a case the answer may be that you may have to step outside the comfort zone gingerly. You do not have take on everything new all at once. If you do it gradually and allow the body to acclimatize to the new environment then stress levels can be managed. Another approach is to use the power of yoga to reduce stress. Thus yoga can be a vehicle not for your health and spiritual well-being, but it can also become a vehicle for your growth and success.
4. It needs energy
Do not underestimate the resistance you may feel when you try to break out of the bonds of your comfort zone. Usually a significant burst of energy is needed to expand your horizons. It is important to make sure that you are prepared physically and emotionally to take the leap. Besides taking time to reduce your stress levels, you should make sure that your physical and emotional health is in place before you start your adventure.
5. Faith is the key
Why do you want to venture out of the comfort zone in the first place? Is it all about you or is it about something bigger? When you make your goals much more than answering the call of an ambitious ego, then you can allow faith in a higher force to guide you. Life outside the comfort zone is not easy and success is not assured. Allow the steadying hand of faith to steady the ship when things get too turbulent.
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Credits:This has been written by Raj Shah and edited by Ketna Shah.