We humans are a funny bunch.
We run and lift weights to get better bodies. We study to get good grades and improve our professional acumen. Some of us even spend time in the sun browning our skin because we think it will make us more attractive!! Arrribbaaa <333
But it seems like few people intentionally work their get more of everything they ever wanted muscle.
In my experience, the most ubiquitously available key to getting more of everything you want is becoming more comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Some call this courage. Others call it a tolerance for rejection.
Whatever you want to call it, the gap between where we are today and where we want to be is often inaction rooted in fear.
The crazy thing is…most of the fear that holds people back is self-fabricated; the worst outcome of that thing you’re not doing that you know you should be really isn’t that scary.
If you’re nodding your head right now, you shouldn’t feel bad because this isn’t your fault. Majority of humans are naturally wired this way due to the way humanity has evolved over thousands of years. Unfortunately, for must of us our natural cognitive proclivity is set on the irrational angst dial : (
The Crappy News:
This unwarranted fear that prevents you from talking to people you actually want to talk to, asking for things you really want, and doing the things you know you should be will never completely go away.
The Good News:
There are certain things you can do that will make you more resilient in the face of fear and anxiety. Again, the fear will never go away completely – it just becomes much easier to rise above these feelings and ACTUALLY take all the actions you know you should be taking.
How To Rewire Your Brain by Stepping Outside of Your Comfort Zone
The only way to rewire your brain to achieve this state of being is by consistently stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Constantly ask yourself:
Am I acting out of fear or the avoidance of fear?
In a perfect fear crushing utopia, when you realize that your behavior is actually fear-driven, you would immediately do the action that scares you (if it is objectively the optimal decision).
…The thing is, consistently opting for a path of greater resistance like this is really hard. BUT if you can train yourself to do this, you’ll unlock much deeper levels of your personal potential and happiness.
My Personal Experience
When I started out on my own personal journey to consistently step outside of my comfort zone, I tried really hard to hunt my fears by always doing the immediate action that scared me. But after a short period of awesome momentum, I noticed that I let life get in the way of this practice.
[quote style=”1″]Uhh…I’m running late to work, so I’m not going to talk to that beautiful girl that just walked by. I’m backlogged on email, so I’m not going to email that person I’ve been looking up to from a distance.[/quote]
Bullshiat excuses anyone?
I eventually came to the conclusion that the only way I’d be able to step outside of my comfort zone with the regularity that I wanted to is if I scheduled it. So I’d literally block out 15 minutes a day to do something that made me uncomfortable and wouldn’t allow myself to move on to my next task until I completed this.
The growth in mindset, courage and freedom I attribute to this practice has been astounding.
The Compliment Challenge
Today, I wanted to share one of the exercises I started doing to intentionally step outside my comfort zone: stopping strangers to compliment them.
Compliment strangers? Come on Scott, that’s not scary.
Really? Then why don’t you stop every person that you find pleasant and let them know how you feel. Be fricken honest with yourself…
In light of the Coffee Challenge, I thought it’d be fun to create a challenge for this activity. After a long night of mental sparring and relentless mind mapping, I decided to call it The Compliment Challenge.
Watch the video below to see The Compliment Challenge in action:
The Compliment Challenge is an awesome place to start if you’re interested in reaching a mindset where you’re actions are not dictated by fear or the avoidance of rejection.
If you do The Compliment Challenge every single day for a week, I have great confidence you’ll notice a positive change in yourself. From here, the goal is to graduate to consistently doing something a bit more uncomfortable…till forever.
I have strong conviction that few things will result in more opportunity, happiness, and abundance than making stepping outside of your comfort zone a core part of your life. If you’ve found this to be true in your own life, I’d love to hear your story in the comments!
Also, if you dig the idea of stepping outside of your comfort zone, here are 3 articles you might enjoy that I really liked:
The Science of Breaking Outside Your Comfort Zone from Alan Henry of Lifehacker
Don’t Walk…Run out Of Your Comfort Zone from Matt Chuevront of Life Without Pants
Why Getting Comfortable With Discomfort is Crucial To Success from Margie Warrell, Author of Stop Playing It Safe
