The Four Stages Of Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone
It’s difficult to do for most people.
Doing something new is never easy. You’ve heard that before, right? You get in a comfort zone, and then everyone starts shouting at you to push more and push past that “comfort zone” into the unknown. Apparently that’s the zone of success, and you’re not working hard enough until you’re there.
Most people have achieved this, regardless of the situation. Whether it be school, fitness, or socially, we can all probably agree that we’ve experienced that leap of faith into something better.
But all we’re ever told is that it’s tough. We know it’s a step from Point A to Point B. How are we supposed to know what we’re about to put ourselves through? It may be different for everyone, but I think everyone goes through similar moments to get to that break through.
Contemplation
That moment when you tell yourself you need to make a change. You realize that you’ve gotta make a move into another direction, and you start letting thoughts shift into new territory.
Absolute Terror
This is where you realize what you have done. You have decided to step away from your regular to-do or training protocol, and you suddenly feel like you’ve made a big mistake. Your original ways were working before, right? Who cares what these fools have to say about growth and changing it up? Rational thinking has gone out the window, and you think about giving up this new change in direction because it looks way more terrifying than beneficial.
Hesitation
After realizing that a change of pace is terrifying, you try to reason why sticking with what you were originally doing will work. Suddenly this new move isn’t looking as helpful, and starts to seem way more out of reach than you anticipated. You begin to see failure in your future, every obstacle possible, and you feel less inclined to process.
The First Step
Finally, you wade into this uncharted territory. It feels weird, it sounds weird, and your head is still flooded with those past contemplations, terrors, and hesitations. The scariest part of all is that you can’t turn back now. You are officially making your way into that uncomfortable zone, in whatever that may be.
These steps are good indicators that you’re doing something right. If changing our habits were easy, every one would do it.
