How to Expand Your Comfort Zone and Enjoy Your Life Even More
I recently did this exercise after reading the book How To Stay Sane by Philippa Perry.
This, like any other exercise, only helps/works if you do it. So, do it and prove me wrong. Or, go through the exercise and stop caring about proving people wrong. Either way, you’ll benefit.
Draw an egg sized circle in the middle of a piece of plain paper. In that circle write examples of things/activities you feel completely comfortable doing.
Around the edge of the circle write examples of activities that you can do but that you have to push yourself a little bit to do – those activities that may make you nervous in some way, but not so much as to stop you from doing them.
Draw a larger circle around this circle of activities like you’re making a bullseye.
In the next band, write activities that you would like to do, but find it difficult to get up the courage to do. Draw another circle around this ring of activities.
Last, write the things you are far too scared to try, but would like to do.
It’s useful to consider what we are comfortable with and what we are not, and then to experiment with expanding our area of comfort. Remember, whatever you try is for yourself alone. It does not matter what anyone else will think. The big idea is to expand your comfort zone in small steps.
When you start to push out from your center circle to gradually include the other zones, you’ll feel more confident about all the challenges inside the center circle.
Also, when you set yourself do-able challenges and succeed, your self esteem and confidence will rise in all areas. If you don’t succeed, what you’ll learn will prove to be invaluable about how to tackle the next challenge.
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