For the most part, we live our lives on our own terms. We all have our own interests, likes and dislikes and decide for ourselves what we want to do and what we don’t want to do in our lives.   

That is how life is meant to be lived. After all, you are a unique individual and have every right to take life into whichever direction you prefer. That is all well and good, except in one scenario.  

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Sometimes, our own ‘terms’ can be detrimental to our own selves. We can often end up creating a comfort zone for ourselves either consciously or sub-consciously and it might lead to a lot of limitations that we place on ourselves leading to a life not lived to the fullest.  

It sounds very cliche talking about comfort zones and ‘living life to the fullest’ but the fact remains that these are important issues that we should talk about and should actively work on in life. Let’s look at why:

1. It Helps You Rediscover Yourself 

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We all have an image of the self, a general idea of who we are as a person. This encompasses everything from the tiniest of details to the biggest.   

But there come times in life where we are forced to re-evaluate this image of the self. It’s a process of rediscovery that shatters old beliefs and establishes new ones.  

All of us have a lot of hidden potential just beneath the surface waiting to be unearthed. Stepping out of the comfort zone lets us do just that. All it takes is a little courage to try to do what we have never done before.  

Who knows, you might end up surprising yourself with what you are truly capable of. I speak from personal experience where I discovered a long time ago that I was much more than who I thought I was.

 2. It Helps You Grow as a Person

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 When we commit ourselves to a comfort zone, we are literally doing the same things over and over again. We sentence ourselves to a ‘routine’ life.   

Granted, we might become the masters of all the limited activities we perform, but evolution is a very natural part of being a human and how can we expect to evolve if we stick to the same habits.  

Life has virtually an unlimited reservoir of experiences and lessons that is just outside that bubble of comfort waiting for us to come to it.  

You might have seen people quit their jobs just because they have gotten everything out of it. Now, I’m not telling you to do the same, but that is how personal growth works. Facing new challenges and obstacles head on!

3. Dealing With Fear Becomes Easier

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How many times have you done something that you feared your whole life but after doing it felt like you could do it again without any fear. Like speaking in front of an audience, for example.   

This is actually the result of our survival instincts that are hardwired into our brains. You see, comfort is coded into our brains. The logic is: comfort equals familiarity and familiarity means that there are no new threats to our survival.  

With this information in mind, we should frequently step out of our comfort zones to try out things that are uncertain or things we are fearful of. Once we do them often, we will realise that the process becomes easier every time.

  4. Life Happens Just Outside Your Comfort Zone 

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Like I mentioned before, life has so much to offer. So many fun people to meet, so many awesome places to visit, so many new experiences to experience. You only need to choose to say yes.

  If your comfort zone is like a lake, the outside world is like a raging river. Scary, of course, but so much fun. If you still don’t want to swim in it, take a boat, see what it is like. Take a feel for its waters.

  It is an enlightening experience to get a glimpse of what life can truly be and to actually live it that way, is a blessing. So, go to that party you said no to, take that vacation to China, go skinny dipping…… I don’t know! Do what makes you happy.