The Courage to Be Confident: Unlocking the Power of Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
We all enjoy being in our comfort zone. One might even say that it is quite comfortable.
At one point in your life, your comfort zone kept you safe and served a purpose. However, we often keep our comfort zones around for much longer than they are truly needed.
The question you need to ask yourself is:
Is my comfort zone currently serving me or is it holding me back?
Don’t be so hard on yourself if you think your comfort zone is holding you back. Your comfort zone existed for a reason. At some point in your life, it kept you safe and served a purpose. But, just because it served a purpose, does not mean you need to keep it around.
Understanding Your Comfort Zone
While we may know that we stay in our comfort zone - do we know the definition?
A comfort zone is where a person feels safe, at ease, and in control without stress.
Where did your comfort zone come from, anyway? Your comfort zone was established through a mix of personal experiences, upbringing, environment, and psychological factors.
Staying in your comfort zone can be reinforced through a variety of factors:
Learned Behaviors: As we encounter situations, we learn behaviors and responses that help us feel in control. Over time, these behaviors become habits.
Fear of the Unknown: Humans tend to avoid uncertainty or risk. The fear of failure or rejection is so strong, that staying in the comfort zone is easier. Rejection Proof by Jia Jiang is a great read about overcoming the fear of rejection.
Past Failures: When we fail, we use these experiences as reasons for not to venture outside of our comfort zone. Do you remember that one time we tried something and failed… don’t ever want to do that again….
Social Influences: Our social influences and environment such as social expectations, the desire to confirm, or be a people pleaser can reinforce staying in our comfort zone.
Over time, all of these reinforce our habits that enforce the boundaries of our comfort zone. It offers stability but can often limit growth and prevent you from reaching your own potential.
Link between Courage and Confidence
It takes a lot of courage to go outside of your comfort zone. Sometimes we think other people are just “confident” and that it is an innate trait. One that we don’t have the ability to change.
The good news is this isn’t true. While some people may be naturally more confident, confidence can also be learned.
While this might be good news it also is a little overwhelming. That means *gasp* you may actually have to go out of your comfort zone to to become more confident?
This might scare you a little (or a lot) - that’s okay. It’s outside of your comfort zone! It’s going to be a little scary and nerve wracking. But that is how we grow - a little bit at a time - slowly shifting out of our comfort zone. With time, you will look back at some of your old fears and wonder why you were so afraid.
So here’s the great news: You don’t need to already be confident. What matters most is having the courage to become confident!
Steps to go outside of comfort zone
You may be thinking - that sounds great, but where do I even begin? Here are a few steps to take to expand past your comfort zone:
Start with reflection - Taking time to reflect on your comfort zone is an incredible way to see how it impacts your life. A good question to ask yourself is:
How is staying in my comfort zone impacting my personal or professional growth?
For additional reflection questions, join the Comfort Zone Challenge!
Set Actionable Goals - Start creating small, actionable steps to get out of your comfort zone. It is important to make sure these are specific. For instance, instead of "be more social, you could “aim for "attend one networking event each week."
Break Down Your Goals - To keep it from being overwhelming, break down your goals into manageable parts. If we use the same example above of being more social, your tasks may include researching upcoming events, reaching out to contacts for introductions, and preparing conversation starters. Breaking down the steps makes it easier to take action.
Take One Step - Take one, small actionable step outside of your comfort zone. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy - just something manageable that is a slight strecth! You don’t have to start with the big scary things, yet!
Reflect - Reflect on how taking one step out of your comfort zone. Ask yourself How did stepping outside my comfort zone impact my confidence and mindset? Did I experience any changes in how I view challenges or setbacks?
Looking to expand your comfort zone? Join the 30-Day Comfort Zone Challenge for weekly support and challenges to help you grow past your comfort zone.
Stephanie Bidle
Stephanie is the founder of the The Simplicity Secret, a life coaching and leadership consulting business. Passionate about personal development, organization, and life optimization, she thrives on helping individuals unlock their potential and achieve their dreams. During her downtime, she can often be found on the porch, enjoying a cup of tea and reading a book.
