“Get out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to be uncomfortable and uncomfortable when you try something new.”
Brian Tracy
I’m a big fan of doing the unusual. Sometimes in big ways. Often in small and daily ways to mix things up.
Why?
Because this habit is a simple and relatively easy way to:
Get out of your comfort zone.
And if you change your perspective of yourself from someone who always clings to the old and comfortable to someone who likes to mix things up, it will feel more natural and easier to break out of your comfort zone when it comes to bigger things too.
Because this habit reduces the inner resistance and fear that may be holding you back.
Add a spark to your day and come alive.
It prevents you from getting stuck in the same daily or weekly rut. And it adds more fun to your life.
Re-energize your curiosity about the world and life.
If you regularly do something unusual, you will discover a lot of new and exciting things.
And that will spark your curiosity about what else is out there that you haven’t discovered yet.
So how do you do the unusual and break out of your comfort zone in small and sometimes bigger ways?
20 ways to get out of your comfort zone
1. Eat the unusual.
Instead of opting for a meat dish for lunch, try the vegetarian alternative.
Or try the fish if you usually go for beef.
2. Smile at everyone.
Instead of just going about your day in your normal social way try to smile more.
Smile more at your colleagues, the lady at the checkout in the supermarket, the people closest to you and smile at yourself when you encounter a mirror. Look what happens.
3. Cook something new.
Every week we try to prepare a new recipe.
It’s usually a tasty experiment and helps us find, sometimes unexpected, new favorites.
It has certainly made me a better cook in recent years.
4. Mix your music.
I mix things up by trying new music every month.
I look at the best music on sites like Metacritical. Then I load a few of those albums on Spotify and listen.
5. Work in complete silence and silence.
Close your office door, turn off your music, unplug from the internet and just focus on the most important thing you can do today while enjoying the silence.
6. Read something your friends wouldn’t guess you were reading.
Doing this has allowed me to broaden my horizons and learn new skills and many, often unexpected things about the world around me.
7. Do all your shopping for the week.
Instead of going grocery shopping when you feel like it or need it, sit down and plan what you’ll eat and need throughout the week. Go get it all in the store.
Now you don’t have to go there for a week and you probably have a lot of extra free time (and less stress) this week.
8. Have a day full of kindness.
Instead of the usual outbursts of irony, sarcasm, etc. throughout the day, try choosing a day where you are just nice and friendly to everyone including yourself.
9. Enjoy it.
All the fluctuations during your normal day are part of life and as life it is a gift in some way.
So some days I tell myself, “enjoy it.”
Then I try to enjoy my day, regardless of whether the inbox is overflowing, whether I’m hungry and starting to get cranky. The things I normally don’t like, I tell myself to enjoy them as part of life.
And so my day actually becomes more enjoyable because a big part of how we view life has to do with how we choose to think about it.
10. Look at something strange.
If you usually watch thrillers, try a romantic comedy. If you get stuck most often on documentaries, try an animated film from Japan (I recommend anything by Hayao Miyazaki).
If you like Family Guy, try Severance or Shrinking. Expand what you’re looking at to gain new ideas and impressions.
11. Listen to the sound of the world.
Leave your portable music player/app at home or turn it off and in your pocket.
Just listen to the sounds of the city, nature and people as you move around during the day.
12. Take a day to be offline.
I’m usually offline one day a week (usually Saturday or Sunday). It’s a wonderful change and it feels like I’m on a small, healthy and extra relaxing holiday.
Moreover, it makes it more fun to go back to work on Monday.
13. Take a news blackout.
Instead of reading the newspaper or watching the news as usual, try going without for a day. See how it affects you and how much you miss the news.
14. Hide a note from a loved one.
Hide a sweet note of affection for a partner, family member or friend in their cookie jar, tea or coffee box, bedside book, hat, shoes or anywhere else they look every day.
Make him or her happy in an unexpected and unusual way.
15. Take a different route.
To work or to school. To your gym or at home.
See something new even when you’re in transport mode.
16. Walk or bike to work.
Instead of taking the car or bus as usual. Get some exercise and fresh air before it’s time for work and on the way home.
17. Let it go for today.
If you often get into arguments or have trouble letting go of issues and replaying them over and over in your head, let it all go for today.
Tomorrow you can pick up your old habits where you left them.
But for today, instead of arguing, just let it go and walk away. If you’re repeating something in your mind, let it go for the day. If an old memory surfaces today, let it go instead of dwelling on it.
18. Go outside.
If you normally stay in during the weekdays, call up some friends and go to the pub for a few hours, even if it’s only a Wednesday.
Or call someone you haven’t met in a long time and go for a cup of tea or coffee. Or go to the cinema and catch a movie.
If you usually do that kind of thing, consider staying in with pajamas and taking it easy.
19. Sit in a new place.
If you have a favorite chair or part of the couch that you always sit on, try a different chair or place to sit today. It can give you a new perspective, at work or at home.
And I’ve found that it can even give me new and fresh thoughts and perspectives on life.
20. Throw away the things you haven’t used in a year.
Go through an area of your home – a closet, a drawer in your desk or bedroom closet – and see what’s in there.
Look at the items one by one and ask yourself:
Have I used this item in the past year?
If not, give the item(s) away to charity or a friend or simply throw them away.