One of the biggest obstacles to starting a new career is stepping out of your comfort zone. Most of us become so contented where we are that the unknown becomes frightening.
We forget that so much of our early life was spent trying new things, going to new schools, making new friends.
I’ve found that as we get older we believe the stakes become bigger and we become contented even when we know we’re in a rut and need to make changes.
The average person will wait until the pain is unbearable before something new is tried. Some people will hang around on a job they couldn’t stand, until they are laid off, before they decide to try something new. Or some will become ill from the stress of what they’re doing before they realize a change must be made to live a better life.
Wouldn’t it be easier to prepare yourself for the change you want instead of waiting until the change is forced upon you?
I recommend trying some very small things to shake up your routine and get yourself to try new things. It could be as simple as taking a new route to work or taking a class in something totally out of your norm.
I once took a hip-hop dance class just to try something totally different. I admit I initially felt completely out of my league. I was a forty-something year old man who had never taken a dance class in his life.
I was scared as hell. However, as I became more comfortable with myself I began to have fun and loosened up a bit. At the end of the class I made a few friends and even lost a few pounds.
Of course I’ll never be a back-up dancer for Lady Gaga (thank God); however I was proud of the fact that I tried something totally different than I ever would previously.
The more you step out of your comfort zone in little ways, the more you build an ability to step out in bigger ways. It’s almost like lifting weights. The more you lift, the more the muscle gets stronger and you are able to lift heavier weights.
So take some new classes, drive a new route to work. Shake up your routine. You’ll find that it becomes easier to try new things and you realize that you can endure stepping out of your comfort zone.