It can be exhausting to step out of your comfort zone all the time. You may feel too stressed and won’t have time to recharge from your last efforts. However, consistently making small changes is more sustainable, and you’ll still challenge yourself in some capacity. Staying in your own comfy bubble might be nice, but you’re going to have a lot of monotonous days in there. Here are five small ways to step out of your comfort zone. Ease yourself into being more adventurous. Start small and work up to larger goals.
1. Change Up Your Routine:
Check out the charming corner coffee shop or a new restaurant. Try a new fitness class. Cook for friends and loved ones instead of going out. Go to a museum and events in your neighborhood. Even something as small as taking a different route to work can make a difference.
2. Go to a Networking Event:
A lot of people are nervous about networking but the benefits can be invaluable. Instead of being nervous think about all of the new friends, business connections, and mentors you might meet. Still hesitant? Use these small talk tips.
3. Start Doing Something Good for You…and Stick With It:
Whether it’s good for the body, heart, or soul, find something that makes you feel good and make it happen regularly. You can hit the gym, start a diet, finally attend an acting class, go to therapy, or write letters to your grandma. Just find something that makes you feel great every time you do it, and make it a habit. Too much of a good thing is wonderful!
4. Propose an Idea at Work:
If you’ve noticed your company’s lackluster online presence, make a social media plan. If you’re dying to get that one brand as a client, brainstorm how to make it happen. Find a way to cut costs. Search for sponsors. Approach someone whose work you admire and suggest a partnership. Do the work, and the rewards will follow.
5. Go on a Solo Trip:
This is a big one, but it is a life-changing experience for many people. It can be a quiet little weekend getaway to the nearest beach, or it can be a three-week holiday to Paris. The point is to get away from other people’s opinions for a little while and do exactly what you’d like to do. If that means lying in bed with a croissant and staring out the window at the Eiffel Tower for half the morning, perfect. If that’s heading to Beantown and running the Boston Marathon, wonderful. If you decide you really need to spend time in a little cottage in Vermont while you work on your novel, do that.
Making your own choices and then actually taking action on them is an empowering thing!
By Lora Ghawaly for Mavenly + Co, a community of young women having honest conversations about college, career, and life and helping them create a lifestyle by their own design.
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