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Leave your comfort zone
Everyone enjoys being comfortable. Being safe, secure, and happy is a basic human desire. For the most part, we prefer the known to the unknown, the predictable to the unpredictable, and the risk-free to the risky.
However, bringing goals to reality requires us to leave our comfort zone. This requirement is in direct conflict with our innate desire to remain safe. So, in order to realize your dreams, you must act in a manner contrary to normal preferences.
A major deterrent to leaving your comfort zone is the fear of the unknown combined with the fear of failure. Failure has many negative connotations. Subsequently, most people seek to avoid failure at all costs. In so doing, they also avoid achieving their goals.
Don't be afraid to leave your comfort zone. It's a necessity if you are going to get the most out of your life. Rather than fearing failure, welcome the opportunity to expand your horizons. Every successful person has moved outside their comfort zone.
Leaving your comfort zone doesn't imply reckless behavior. Rather, it is done only after careful thought, preparation, and planning. Nothing in life is guaranteed. Staying in your comfort zone is only an illusion of safety. Leaving feels as if it's fraught with peril because you enter an area that is completely different to you.
What's the worst-case scenario? You attempt something new and it doesn't work out as you had planned? So what? You pick yourself up, brush off the dirt, and keep going. You identify what went wrong, make the necessary adjustments, and keep persisting.
Just as an athlete goes through physical conditioning in preparation for an event, you can train yourself to leave your comfort zone. The key is to start with small challenges and then gradually work your way up to bigger aspirations.
Consider leaving your comfort zone as an exercise that will reward you with new knowledge and experiences. Have fun with the process. Even if something doesn't work out as planned, you will be OK.
Your initial forays outside your comfort zone can begin with innocuous activities that enable you to get comfortable with change. Take a different route to or from work. Go out to eat at a restaurant you haven't been to before. Pick a completely different destination for your vacation. Strike up a conversation with a stranger.
Although these activities may seem insignificant, they get you used to doing things you haven't done before. This is great practice for venturing further outside of your comfort zone. As with other things in life, this takes practice. With each small success, your confidence level will grow.
With time, you will become so acclimated to leaving your comfort zone that you won't want to go back. As you reach this point, you will be able to devote all of your energy to reaching new levels of accomplishment rather than struggling to leave your comfort zone.
The key to leaving your comfort zone is overcoming your fear of the unknown. To accomplish this, do what you are afraid to do and go where you're afraid to go. Additionally, remember that in the vast majority of cases, the worst that could happen really isn't that bad.
The bottom line is that in order to realize your dreams, you have to leave your comfort zone. Even though you may be scared, you have to do it. At first, you will feel uneasy, but continue anyway. The rewards are well worth the effort.