Sure, it can feel good to stay in the comfort and security of life as you know it. It’s like getting a big warm hug from a dear old friend. It makes you all warm and fuzzy inside.
But, sometimes that gets old. You’re ready to open a new book, sing a new song or walk a different path. You’re ready for a change.
How do you make that happen? Here are some tips to get you started:
Find Your Passion
What is it that makes you grin from ear to ear? Is it the thought of doing something that’s an adrenaline rush, such as strapping a parachute onto your back and jumping out of a plane, or is it doing something a little less intense such as taking that new dance class you heard about but have been too afraid to walk into?
The key is to come up with what lights your fire and drives you to want to learn more or do more. After all, if you have the passion to begin with, the rest won’t seem much like work at all.
Decide What Your Life is Missing
When you’re ready to make a change, usually it’s because you feel like your life is missing something. You want something more than what you currently have. Once you figure out what it is, it may make it easier to decide what you need to do to get the excitement back into your world.
Maybe you’re missing a social life and something as simple as taking a class or joining a group would satisfy that need. Or, perhaps you’re bored at work and want a change of job or you feel like you need new scenery and are considering moving to a new town. Figure out exactly where you feel you lack so you know what it will take to satisfy you.
Figure Out What Has Held You Back
Once you know what it is you want to do, try to determine what has held you back from pursuing it before now. Was it the fear of rejection or looking foolish? Or, did you talk yourself out of it because you told yourself you “couldn’t” do it?
You need to understand what obstacles have stopped you in the past to know how to get around it in the future. After all, you can’t solve a problem until you know what it is, right?
Question Your Beliefs
All too often, we’re our own worst enemies when it comes to not pursuing our goals or dreams. We believe that we are unable to do something, so we don’t even try. We basically stop the process before it can even start because we don’t want to risk failure.
If you’re telling yourself that you can’t or shouldn’t do something, ask yourself why? What makes you believe that you’re incapable our unable to do what it is you want to do? And, once you isolate the belief, ask yourself whether or not it’s true. Chances are good that you’ll realize that it’s not.
Get Your Mind in the Right Place
In order to step outside the world of ordinary into the world of extraordinary, you need to get your mind on board. The best way to do that is to give it the pep talk it needs to motivate it to move forward.
Be your own cheerleader and coach and remind yourself that this is going to be good for you. You’ll get to experience new things and have all new stories to tell your family and friends. How much fun is that going to be? Get yourself excited about what lies ahead.
Embrace Your Fears
A lot of people let fear stop them from stepping outside their comfort zone. However, fear is often confused with danger. Danger is a real situation that can cause you harm; but fear is nothing more than a feeling.
It’s normal to feel scared when you’re doing something that you’ve never done before. Understand that and then embrace your fear, using the energy it creates to keep pushing you forward. Set out to conquer your fear and prove you are stronger than it will ever be.
Learn From Others Who Have Done the Same
You’re not the first one that has ever decided to go outside their comfort zone and embrace a new and different life. Sometimes this gentle reminder is all that is needed to give you the courage to do something new.
Read other people’s stories and gain strength through them. Buy their books, listen to their audio courses and find their stories on the internet. You won’t feel so alone and uncertain if you keep it in your mind that others before you have done the same thing and managed to live through it. You can too.
Just Take Action
You can dream of change all you want, but until you take action it’s going to remain nothing more than a dream. It takes you actually doing something to make it a reality.
At some point, you’re going to have to take a step toward getting where you want to be if you want to live a different life. It can be the scariest step, but it can also be the most exhilarating.
It’s like feeling all nervous when you get on a roller coaster and it goes up that first steep incline. But the minute you get past that first drop and finish the ride, you can’t wait to do it again.
Take Back-Up with You
If you truly can’t (or won’t) do whatever it is that you want to do alone, get a friend to do it with you. Things are often easier to do when you have someone there to go through the motions with you.
Ask a friend if they’re willing to walk the walk with you. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get them out of their comfort zone and feel alive as well!
Have Faith
Whatever you decide to do to bring some joy and excitement into your world, have faith that it will work out. Go into it with an open mind and be ready for all the great results you’ll experience just because you were willing to do something new.
Will it turn out exactly as you had planned? Most likely not. But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to enjoy the ride just the same, if not more.
Can the process of leaving your safety zone be frightening? Yes. But, isn’t it more frightening to think that you have a whole world of opportunities available to you and you aren’t getting to enjoy them? Take the plunge and choose to live life!
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