Casablanca - This article is part of a series of articles entitled BVY (Better Version of Yourself) that aim to bring the best out of you as an individual.
So, are you ready to become the best of version of yourself? Let’s go!
The term “comfort zone” stands for everything you can easily and comfortably do “like a boss.” For example, when you’re the greatest singer in the room, and somebody asks, “can you sing for us?” you actually feel like you were complimented and you barely feel any pressure doing it. That’s your comfort zone.
But, what if you were asked to dance, knowing that you’d look like a drunken bear if you did so? Would you go out of your comfort zone and give it a go or would you just sit on the sofa and pretend to have fun while watching others having a blast dancing? Most people would opt for the sofa.
Comfort zones are virtual spheres where we unconsciously imprison ourselves, thinking that the best things we will ever do will only take place inside the sphere.
When the opportunity to try or learn something new offers itself, we just turn it down and become defensive—“It’s just not my thing,” we usually say.
Well, the bad news is, each time you turned down an opportunity to try something new, you might have rejected a potential chance to learn something valuable, which could have then become “your own thing.” The good news is you can still compensate for all those lost opportunities.
Don’t feel like a useless idiot if you don’t manage to pull something off in your very first try. No one scores a three-pointer the first time he or she holds a basketball.
Most people turn down life changing opportunities just because of this fear of not being good enough. But who wants to be good enough? There’s no motivation to continuously seek improvement if you already do something perfectly.
Get out of your comfort zone and try something new, because you never know if you will be good at something until you try it. You may be the next Hicham El Guerrouj or the next RedOne, but the fear of ridicule will just kill the uncharted potential in you.
Watch the Experts
Some people do not feel comfortable asking for help and guidance from others when trying something for the first time. Immodesty is another sphere in which we imprison ourselves and kill our potential. Having a down-to-earth attitude is one of the ingredients of excellence.
Try something I like to call, “swapping comfort zones.” Offer to help other people get out of their comfort zones and learn something new. In exchange, ask them to help you learn what they’re already good at. You will hit two birds with one stone: you will feel useful teaching others, and you will learn something new yourself.
However, if you’re an egotist and can’t ask for help from others, then all you have to do is watch others do something you’re bad at. Look for those people who seem to be very good at what they’re doing. Attentively scrutinize all of their movements and techniques and memorize them, then try imitating the process on your own.
It’s not going to be a piece of cake. Sometimes you will have to work hard and strive to become good at something. This is quite expectable for someone who’s fresh out of his or her comfort zone.
Reward Yourself Constantly
Self-rewarding is the best way to stay enthusiastic throughout the process of learning something new. Many people throw in the towel just a few steps before the finish line because they lose motivation, the fuel of all endeavors.
We learn big things in small steps. That is why you have to reward yourself whenever you successfully finish a step, in order to be geared-up with determination for the next one.
Talk about your success to others. Tell them how you juggled a soccer ball for 10 seconds on your first day ever touching a soccer ball, or how you nailed a sophisticated salsa move after hours of trying, or how you managed to cook a difficult dish during your first time in the kitchen.
The more you motivate yourself in the process of learning something new, the more you will find pleasure in learning it and the more likely it is to become another trophy on the shelf of your comfort zone.
Edited by Liz Yazlik
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