Five tips: How to leave your comfort zone

Five tips: How to leave your comfort zone

You've heard it before: "Move out of your comfort zone" is the famous phrase spoken by many entrepreneurs, gurus and mentors. As a small business owner, I have come to appreciate the sage advice to step outside of my comfort zone in business, relationships, and life. As a licensed marriage and family therapist at a nonprofit counseling agency, I quickly became disillusioned with the amount of time, emotional energy, and effort I had to expend as an extremely low-income counselor.

I longed to spend more time with my boys and husband, but I had student loans, licensing fees and association dues to pay - so I continued working at the nonprofit counseling center. When I first started going into private practice, I found all sorts of good reasons why I shouldn't do it.

Eventually, any fears I had about the transition were outweighed by an intense desire to move into my own office and practice marriage and family therapy in my own unique way. I took my first step and looked for an office that I could rent hourly from another therapist. I started telling everyone I knew that I was going into private practice, and soon I was taking on a few clients. It felt so good to meet with clients in an office where I was responsible for how long the session would last, what specific treatment method to use, and what to charge for a session based on the client's needs. This was my first step outside of my comfort zone.

Fast forward to the present moment, I now practice as a therapist and small business coach, helping other health practitioners and creative types start and grow the business of their dreams. Now that I'm working the way I've always wanted to, it's an interesting phenomenon that I'm always tempted to keep things safe and comfortable. I have to make a conscious effort to step out of my comfort zone every day.

Here are 5 tips to help business owners get out of their comfort zone and into the adventure and success zone:

1. Change your thoughts – Everyone struggles with limiting thought patterns from time to time, but since thoughts determine feelings and behavior, it is important to learn to harness these negative thoughts and replace them with reality-based, positive thoughts. It is absolutely true that this thought pattern aligns our mind-body system with promising behaviors when we choose to pay attention to the positive aspects of life.

Start by examining those pesky little “what if” questions that creep into our minds. Questions like: “What if I invest in this form of advertising and it doesn’t work?” “What if I open my own office and don’t get enough business to pay the rent?”. These are the kind of fear-based questions that keep you in your comfort zone. Use these questions and replace them with positive “what if” questions. “What if I write a few articles about my field and find that I really enjoy it?” “What if I spoke at an association meeting and could convey my passion for my work?”

2. Move through fear with action. Use your fears to challenge yourself to new heights. The best antidote to anxiety is to take action. Take an adventurous approach to whatever you fear. Are you afraid to call that successful entrepreneur who might be able to help you? Just do it – write down a short script, practice saying it out loud, and then pick up the phone and call. Are you afraid of speaking in front of groups? Maybe you could join Toast Masters and learn to speak in a group where everyone else is learning too. The crazy thing about fear is that it is an emotion that is rarely based in truth. Don't let a distorted version of reality stop you from making gains, taking action, and overcoming fear.

3. Imagine reaching the next level of success. The brain can more easily create new neural pathways when we engage as many senses as possible, so create a mental movie rich in detail. What would it look like if you achieved this big goal? What sights, smells, tastes, and feelings will you experience once you reach this goal? Take a few 5-minute breaks throughout the day to relax with deep breaths and do your mental movie. The more you visualize yourself achieving your goal, the more likely you are to step out of your comfort zone to develop the new thoughts and behaviors necessary for success.

4. Take up a hobby or sport that takes you outside your comfort zone. Some entrepreneurs go skydiving or windsurfing - this allows them to experience the mind-body state of being, do something new and overcome fear. You don't necessarily have to take up a risky hobby or sport to get out of your comfort zone. You could try something as simple as hiking a little longer or higher than usual, taking a sculpting class, painting a picture without caring about the outcome, or joining a community softball team.

The emotional and mental experience of trying a new hobby or sport becomes an expanded vision for your business. It will make it easier to try new approaches, think new thoughts and explore new ways of doing business.

5. Invest money in your business. When times are tight, we tend to cut our marketing budget, research and development, and new equipment or software. Instead of giving in to the temptation to cut growth-driving expenses, find some smart ways to invest in your business that will signal to your own psyche that you're willing to put your money where your mouth is. This pushes us out of our comfort zone by increasing our confidence in ourselves and our business and putting some skin in the game.

Now I've moved into another adventure zone - I've added small business coaching, which has taken me out of the comfort zone of simply practicing marriage and family therapy. Now people rely on me to help them combine their talents, gifts and passion to create the business of their dreams.

An important part of this process is self-discovery. I use the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to help people discover their unique personality traits so they can play to their strengths and find ways to work with their weaknesses. Their personality determines, to some extent, how much risk they are willing to take, how well they take risks, and how best they can get out of their personal comfort zone.

If you need help getting out of your comfort zone, one of the best ways to get support is by hiring a coach, mentor, advisor, or objective person to help you set new goals and reach for the stars.