Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone

I’ve been thinking a lot this week about what it means to get outside your comfort zone. What does it take for a person to be willing to get outside of what is familiar and comfortable? The simple answer, of course, is courage because it does take courage to be willing to take the risk. But what does it mean to be courageous? What does courage look like?

Courage Doesn’t Always Roar

It’s easy to think of courage as making bold gestures and being first on the battle field. Images of Mel Gibson on the battlefield in the movie Braveheart come to mind.  But sometimes, courage doesn’t roar. Sometimes courage is a quiet yes, instead of a loud no. Sometimes, it’s saying yes to things that you KNOW are right for you, even when everything and everyone around you is shouting no.

It’s being willing to risk what feels comfortable in order to discover what feels right. It’s letting go of what’s known, in order to embrace all the possibilities waiting in the unknown.

Courage and Stupidity

But courage is a tricky thing isn’t it? How can you know if you’re being courageous or if you’re just being stupid. What if you make the wrong decision and everything comes crashing down? What if you fail? What if…? What if…? What if…?  The list is endless of all the things that could possibly go wrong if you do this thing.

My question to you is, what if things go right? What if you make the decision and things go better than you thought? I often wonder why we rush to assume the worse and almost never hold space for the possibility of things going right when the odds are more likely that things will go right. Maybe not perfect but definitely right.

Here’s the thing, though, in the beginning courage and stupidity look very much the same and you won’t actually know the difference until you jump. It’s in the jumping that you discover just how courageous you really are and yes you might fail. You might fall flat on your face but at least you will have experienced something new in the process. And who knows, maybe just maybe, you will jump and discover that you have wings to help you soar to your goals and your dreams.

Outside Your Comfort Zone

All the really great stuff that happens in life, happens outside your comfort zone. When you get to the end of your life, what do you want said about you? Do you want them to say he played it safe and was always predictable? Or do you want them to say, she was a risk taker and was always doing something new and unpredictable?

In twenty years, when you look back on your life it will not be the things that you did that you will regret most, it will be the things that you did not do. So what leap of faith do you need to take today? Maybe it’s not a leap for you, maybe it’s a small baby step that you need to take to start moving outside your comfort zone. Whatever it looks like for you, let me encourage you to do it. Take the step! Make the leap! I promise you will not regret making that decision.

So what are you waiting for?! Go for it!

From my heart to yours,

What risks are you taking? How are you intentionally getting outside your comfort zone? Tell me on Twitter or Facebook