50 Easy Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

If life feels dull, flat, or just too predictable lately, it might not be your circumstances; it might be your comfort zone.

We all crave safety and ease, but too much of it can slowly drain your joy, energy, and even your sense of purpose.

The good news?

You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel more alive. With a few intentional choices, you can break out of routine and spark growth, confidence, and vitality. Here are 50 small but powerful ways to start.

Stick with me here–I’m not suggesting your do crazy or dangerous things or even intensely uncomfortable. I’m just sharing ways that can help you feel better and have a richer feeling life.

So many women come to me for life coaching because they don’t feel alive, energetic, or even hopeful. Getting out of your comfort zone is one way to raise your energy and begin feeling alive again!

While it might seem like “getting out of your comfort zone” is a cliché, it is not. I believe that doing things out of your comfort zone is so important for your mental, emotional, and physical health.

I first wrote about why getting out of your comfort zone years is good for you years ago and I believe that is why I’ve had incredible experiences and why I feel excited about what’s to come.

We all love our comfort zones. So, what is a comfort zone and why is it important to stray from it now and then?

Here is my favorite analogy to make sense of this. I exercise almost daily and an important part of my fitness efforts is improving my balance.

I’m 62 and my mom is 92 and I have seen how incredibly important balance is to my future wellbeing.

Now, to improve balance, you have to place yourself in situations where you feel unbalanced. It’s the act of finding your own balance that improves you balance.

I promise you this. You will not improve your balance sitting in a comfy chair or lying in bed.

The only way to improve your balance is to throw yourself off balance and then right yourself. If you stand on one leg, you will feel your entire body working to keep you stable.

Your comfort zone is a psychological state where you feel safe, at ease, and familiar. It’s the equivalent of you sitting or lying down all day.

Sara, why wouldn’t I want to feel safe and at-ease?

Of course I want you to feel those things. However, those feelings can also be a trap and they can also be false. Just because something isn’t familiar doesn’t mean it’s actually safe.

Why it’s Important to Not Get Stuck in your Comfort Zone

I see women get so addicted to feelings of comfort. And for the record what is comfortable for you or me, isn’t always good for us. It’s just what we are used to.

When we hold on to staying comfortable, we give up living up to our full potential and we miss out on living a truly exciting life.

I truly believe that by staying in your comfort zone, you miss out on the fullness of life.

We were not meant to feather our nest and then never fly again.

Yet, we spend time creating our own oasis, getting our home, our friends, our family, and our activities just right. We do this so we won’t feel uncomfortable and we also do it to prevent feeling uncomfortable feelings.

Why We Resist Getting Out of Our Comfort Zone?

Getting out of our comfort zone is something many of us struggle with; that’s totally normal. But if it leads to staying in unhealthy situations, rigid rules for life, or just doing the same thing day after day, then it can suck the life right out of you.

Look, it’s human to want to stay safe and avoid pain. We will feel like it is unsafe at some level to do new things. It can actually feel threatening.

It’s helpful to realize that this isn’t true most of the time; it just feels that way.

An example would be public speaking which is known to be a common fear for people. It feels so dangerous that people can feel their heart beating, their palms getting sweaty and a feeling of panic just thinking about it.

But it’s not truly dangerous in that it can really hurt us. 

Here’s the thing thought, instead of hurting us, doing the uncomfortable thing can help us. By doing the thing, you can feel pride, fulfillment, and self-confidence. The tradeoff of doing something scary is that you grow and you ultimately feel better!

The first time I posted a post on my website I felt so uncomfortable! It felt like I was exposing myself naked to the world. And this was well before anyone was actually reading my posts.

If I had given up, I would have missed out on some of the great joys of my life. I’ve met people, literally met them because of my writing.

I created an income from my writing. My writing has become how I support myself by working at home for way fewer hours than my previous jobs. 

Finally, my writing is my legacy, my mark on the world. 

Getting out of your comfort zone isn’t just good for your personal growth, it can be great for your life in many other ways.

How to Get out of Your Comfort Zone

One way is to do safe things that make you feel uncomfortable. I emphasize safe because I am not talking about things that would actually put you in any real danger.

The things I’m suggesting may feel a little stressful or scary but you won’t get hurt physically by doing them.

The following list of 50 ways to get out of your comfort zone are small ways you can begin to push yourself into feeling more alive and having more vitality.

Do New Things

Let’s talk about doing new things. This can mean anything. 

• Meeting new people. Trying new activities or developing new skills or hobbies.
• Go to a new restaurant instead of your usual one
• Wear different types of clothing—ones that appeal to you but are what you usually wear
• Go on a retreat or workshop where you don’t know anyone
• Take a class and learn something new
• Shop in unfamiliar stores
• Getting out of your comfort zone doesn’t have to be earth-shattering; it just needs to be different for you.

Get off autopilot

So much of our lives are run on autopilot. This isn’t all bad and in fact it’s absolutely necessary and how we’re designed. 

I’m a huge fan of my daily routine and it allows me to get a lot done. However, I also like to do things differently just for the experience of being a little uncomfortable.

But when we don’t ever question or do things differently, we can feels stuck or like somethings missing. 

Fear of the unknown may keep us stuck but it doesn’t have to. It can be fun to embrace the unknown at times.

Mix it up sometimes

• Take a different route on your way to work.
• Order something different at your favorite restaurant
• Go to different restaurants and try new kinds of foods
• Try a new coffee shop
• Read a new genre of book
• Push yourself in some way

Another way to get out of your comfort zone is to push yourself into new beliefs. For example, you may believe it’s impossible to do a push-up or walk a fifteen-minute mile.

Push yourself in small steps to do the thing you think you can’t do!

• Improve your flexibility: touch your toes while standing or sitting on the floor
• Learn to do a back bend
• Find a yoga routine and master it
• Increase your intensity
• Do your regular workout or walk 5% faster or more intensely
• Workout a little longer than usual

Learn New Skills

Take some kind of class, either online or locally. Extra points for doing this in person since that is probably more uncomfortable.

There are so many ways to get out of your comfort zone via learning a new skill or craft.

• Art lessons of any kind
• Making jewelry, textiles, or pottery
• Learn a new language and plan a trip somewhere yiou can practice it.
• Take a class on anything that helps your career or business (graphic design, spreadsheets, photography, bookkeeping, or writing.)

Do Things That Scare You

We all suffer a bit from the fear of the unknown. I’ve put off doing things for years because I just didn’t know how it would turn out.

My solution for that has been to decide ahead of time that it would work out for me.

I’ve met so many women who want to do something but don’t because what is unknown is just too scary for them.

Here are some of those kinds of things.

• Start a blog
• Start your book
• Start a business of your own on the side (Don’t put off that decorating or organizing business any longer!)
• Go to that country you’ve been eager to visit
• Sign up for a 5K walk or run

Growth Mindset Versus Fixed Mindset

One of the most exciting changes to how we look at our potential is by developing a growth mindset instead of settling for a fixed mindset.

It used to be believed that our brain stopped developing at a certain age. Now we know that our brains can grow, change, and learn throughout life!

That’s great news. 

Here’s more great news. Just by believing it is possible to change, you’ve begun the process of positive change.

As a life coach and counselor, I’ve worked with thousands of people. What I saw and continue to see is that the only people who can change are people that believe they can change.

The people that stayed stuck are people that cling to what to them is the fact that they can’t change. These people will argue that they can’t change and try to convince me to believe them.

I’ll also add that people that can’t, or I should say, won’t change are the most miserable people I’ve ever met. Clinging to the belief that you can’t change is toxic in my opinion.

And I don’t believe these people are toxic in general; I just believe this is a toxic and debilitating trait. It wrings life and wellbeing right out of you.

Having a fixed mindset, which for the purposes of this post, I’m equating with staying in your comfort zone, can lead to more stress, feeling “threatened” more often, and less enjoyment in life.

Here’s the thing. If you believe that you are set, that you aren’t going to grow, and you are trying to hold on to what you have, you have a fixed mindset in some ways.

Having a growth mindset allows you to enjoy the life you have now and look forward to an even richer life.

Getting out of your comfort zone does not take away anything. It’s the opposite, getting out of your comfort zone enriches your life, I believe, even on a cellular level.

More Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Go places by yourself

• Museums
• Art shows
• Music event
• A restaurant
• Coffee shop
• A long weekend out of town
• A state or national park

Go beyond your current limits

• If you usually walk two miles, go for three
• Be a beginner. Sign up for lessons for something you think you can’t do
• Go to an event that you normally wouldn’t
• Volunteer or become a mentor
• Do something to help causes you believe in
• Wear clothing that is different than what you usually wear
• Read a book that is about something you’ve never read about
• Get an astrology reading (in my experience, it always expands my vision of what I am)

Fun stuff

• Plan a game night for family or friends
• Have a potluck and try new types of foods
• Spend more time with grandkids, nephews, and nieces and PLAY
• Buy craft kits and do them

Healthy things

• Learn to feel your feelings
• Develop good eating habits (feeling feelings will help with this)
• Be intentional with your social connections. Nourish the good ones, distance the negative ones

Regulate your nervous system

• EFT Emotional Freedom Technique or Tapping
• Meditation
• Regular walking or the purpose of calming instead of to affect your weight

Final Thoughts on Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

First of all, you don’t have to be out of your comfort zone all the time! But by being intentional about saying yes to more things and taking small steps, you may just surprise yourself when you don’t let the fear of the unknown hold you back.

Most of the things that make me happiest now are things I had never done prior to age 53. By getting out of my comfort zone, I expanded my life in all the ways.

I found that by regularly pushing myself, I grew in my capacity to believe what is possible for myself. In doing this, I now see way more possibility in everyone around me.

While I have emphasized how good this is for you, I also want to point out that life is more fun when you aren’t huddled in your little bubble trying to never get upset.

Just think of it like balancing on one leg. You’ll feel wobbly at first but then your whole body will work to balance you. Then you get to feel strong, calm, and balanced.

For a more fulfilling life, you first gotta feel a little off balance. These new challenges require a little courage, but I believe you’ve got that. It might just be a little rusty.

This list isn’t everything. Let your curiosity be your guide. Watch for things, notices, advertisements, or conversations that pique your interest.

I’ve had some of my most amazing experiences when I saw a notice or advertisement for something and I signed up.

Or I had a mental inspiration and I followed it.

Getting out of your comfort zone can lead to a rich and interesting life. For me that is more important than attempting to stay comfortable.

This means that I’m willing to have experiences that don’t end up feeling great as well. I believe that so-called failure, “getting off track,” and making mistakes are just as important as trying to feel good all the time.

And since I’ve embraced a life where I’m willing to feel it all, I am the happiest I’ve ever been. This type of happiness feels true and authentic to me and for me, is creating a life, I feel like I’ve lived well.