It’s understandable that you want to stay inside your comfort zone – after all, that’s the easiest thing to do! It’s where you feel safe, it’s where you don’t open yourself up to criticism and hurt, and it removes tough decisions from your life.
Despite these so-called “benefits” of staying inside your comfort zone, you’re really doing yourself a disservice by not putting yourself out there! Here are 4 reasons why staying inside your comfort zone is ultimately hurting you:
1) It Takes Action to Create Change
If your life isn’t where you want it to be then you can blame other people all you like, but you are the only one truly responsible for your circumstances. If you stick to your comfort zone, to what you know, without ever changing, how can you expect your life to get any better?
2) You Can’t Grow Unless You Stretch
Without stretching outside of your comfort zone, you’ll never grow as a person. Think about people who are true masters in their field. Do you think they weren’t scared before they started? Do you think it was easy for them to just try something new and get good at it overnight? It wasn’t!
Every time you take a small step outside of your comfort zone, you grow as a person. Your comfort zone grows that much bigger as a result, making it easier and easier to stretch yourself to new limits.
3) You’ll Never Discover Your True Identity
If you stick to what you already know, then you’ll never find your true identity and calling in life. Even if you think you’ve already found it, there could be something you haven’t tried that lights you up and introduces you to even more amazing things!
Taking risks also shows you parts of your personality that might otherwise have stayed hidden. They can show you that you’re a lot stronger than you ever thought you were. In turn, these new realizations will make it easier and easier to try new things in the future.
4) Sometimes Holding Back Can Hurt You MORE
There’s something that feels uncomfortable about knowing you’re holding back and staying within your comfort zone. It’s that nagging feeling that you should be doing more. When the pain of this feeling becomes more painful than what you’re really scared of, it’s time to push forward and try new things!
It’s not about taking drastic action and doing everything you’re terrified of. It’s about taking small steps, on a regular basis, so that your comfort zone just keeps on growing. Good luck!
Read: 6 Major Reasons People Procrastinate