Last week, something happened which was a pleasant surprise for me. Inadvertently, I got the contact number of my childhood close pal. We shared a few words over WhatsApp and then she buzzed me last Friday. I was astonished hearing the voice at the other end. I heard a sweet voice speaking in an American accent from the other side.
What I heard was quite unexpected!
It was 25 yrs gap closed and each of us shared our journeys cut short within an hour of conversation. The pages of my memory opened up and the image of my friend, born in a conservative Muslim family, living in a small town in India, studying in a convent school, taller than me, her hair tied neatly in a ponytail, with specks adorning her eyes and being more vocal than me. I heard a spectacular story-unimaginable! given the image of 25 years back that I have of her. I learned that she traveled all by herself at the age of 21, to the country of dreams completely funded by a sweet soul. From having a psychology degree from a small town in India going up to become a nurse practitioner in the Oncology department in New York and embroiled in many charitable works across the globe.From a family living with limited resources to presently living the American dream as they say.
All I thought was Oh WOW!
What actually she did to reach here? She stepped out of her comfort zone! Getting outside of your comfort zone necessitates doing things that you are uncomfortable with. As an introvert, I often felt sheepish talking to strangers or making friends.
Yet, sooner in University, I realized I need to bulldoze this discomfort.
It’s so comfortable to stay with your parents, it’s so fearless to travel with friends, it’s so heartening to get things you want without a struggle.
However, we are not living in a world where everything can and must happen within our safe bubble.
If you want to know the potentials you are bestowed with, your latent talent, your hidden self, it is obligatory for one’s own growth to push the boundary, to step out of your perceived zone and explore your untapped potential, test your endurance and survival instinct, know how to fight out your fears, scepticism that hinders you to navigate through a path which may just be rosier than you predicted.
Then,
What you must do to come out of your comfort zone?
Hedonism is a fool’s paradise, in this smart world...
Do the activity that shudders you with fear:
As long as you try to move away from pain, fear and live in self-gratification, you are closing your doors to find a new self. It specifically means that if you are afraid of speaking in front of a crowd, then as a student fight your own fear however impeding it may be and take part in a debate competition in your school, engage in an extempore speech in front of your classmates. If you do this consistently, trust my words you can land up being one of the best public speakers! or simply expressing yourself well.
Involve yourself in actions which are different from your normal activities:
Every little action that departs from your normal routine is an effort to pushing the horizon of your comfort zone and may be helpful for your growth. If you think getting up early and doing an aerobic session is next to impossible, then just force yourself one day from the bed and engage in 10 minutes of aerobics. You will be amazed that you just beat your created self myth!.
Try enjoying your discomfort zone:
The prime objective of moving out of your comfort zone is to tell yourself that you are learning the virtues of the discomfort zone and that you are going to have developed through this stepping stone. Through self-counseling, prod yourself to be uncomfortable, yet be consistent with the efforts.
Try doing new things:
Even if you are doubtful of your successes, your potentials, your strengths, still embark on small journeys of discovery by persistently nudging yourself to entail in activities that you think you can never do.
The more you push your boundaries, a rainbow of opportunities open up and your journey becomes worthy, full of small battles won to being triumphant in life –Something you yourself will be dumfounded with!
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