Are you experiencing growth in your business? If you’re not, it could be because you are stuck in your comfort zone! It’s time to get out of your comfort zone and start creating opportunities for growth.
I recently took a leadership training course for the duration of 4 months, and during one of the activities, we did an obstacle ropes course.
One of the biggest obstacles required that we climb to the top of a pole, stand on top, and then jump and hope to grab onto the trapeze and then after that we were able to rappel down.
I felt really uncomfortable with the idea of having to do that, but knew that trying it would stretch me and help me grow! It forced me outside of my safe zone.
And you know what? It did! All of the other obstacles were much easier after I had finished that one: I already knew that I could do it successfully!
See, when you get out of your comfort zone and try something new, when you try again, it gets easier and easier.
Becky Blalock, a guest on the Success Unfiltered Podcast, believes that entrepreneurs need to push themselves outside their comfort zones. Our comfort zones hold us back from greatness, and Becky is here with a few tips and tricks to help push us outside of our comfort zone and realize our full potential.
Surround Yourself with People Who Encourage You
When Becky decided she was going to write a book, people asked her one question: “aren’t you afraid of failing?”
Instead of cheering for her and supporting her, they brought up the possible NO’s and what if’s!
Becky shut that attitude DOWN! And worked hard to surround herself with people who would encourage her to be the best that she could be, and to push herself out of her safety net.
She had a story that needed to be told!
As entrepreneurs, we all often experience the very same thing. Our friends and family don’t mean to say NO to our new endeavor: in fact, they often don’t realize that they are doing so!
In order to be successful, we need to surround ourselves with people who are like-minded and positive, and will push us towards growth. We need to be surrounded by others who say NO to our comfort zones, and encourages us to take risks and try new things.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
The best way to push yourself outside your comfort zone is to try new things.
You’ll never grow if you don’t stretch yourself, leave your comfort zone, and give yourself the opportunity to learn and grow.
“Failure isn’t failure: it’s feedback,” Becky Blalock says.
When you leave your safe zone, that place where you know you’re good at what you do, you’re constantly affirmed, and you’re an expert, you create a place where you are going to learn and grow.
It’s like the obstacle course that I told you about earlier. I didn’t necessarily want to go jump off a pole to a trapeze and hope to catch the bar dangling in the air. I am actually terrified of heights!
But, it was a scenario where I knew that I needed to push past my fear, and now I am so glad that I did it.
When I try new things, I think back to the moments where I left my comfort zone behind:
- When I started FITzee Foods
- When I pitched on Shark Tank
- When I started the Success Unfiltered Podcast
Every single one of those things were outside my comfort zone, but each one helped me to grow. Now, I can look back at those periods of growth and it makes it easier to try new things and push myself outside of my comfort zone!
How can you try new things in your business? Perhaps you need to start pitching new clients, or start implementing new follow up strategies.
If you haven’t been doing these things so far, then beginning them now will definitely push you to get out of your comfort zone! You’ll be amazed at the results and your own personal growth.
Follow Up is Key
I love follow up: it’s truly the #1 thing that most people do not do that could explode their business.
Becky’s story is one of follow up: she had to follow up to get a seat on the board; she had to follow up with publishers to get her book accepted.
See a trend? It’s all about the follow up. You have to be annoyingly persistent in sales, and be willing to follow up with people.
Just choosing to get out of your comfort zone is not enough by itself – you’ll have to enter a new level of pushing past fear, where you are advocating for yourself; pushing for others to recognize your product or service that you are offering.
However, most people don’t follow up, and that costs them.
It just may be your comfort zone that is keeping you from picking up the phone and following up with that potential client or investor – say NO to your comfort zone, and YES to follow up: even if they say NO when you call during follow up, remember, it’s not failure; it’s feedback!
The worst thing that will happen is that they will say NO, and you will learn valuable lessons from it, and the next call gets just a little bit easier as you gain confidence from your experience.
In Conclusion
You’ll never realize your full potential from your comfort zone. It’s hard to leave that comfort zone; that safe, cozy place that feels so good. That place where you’re an expert at what you do, everyone likes you, and you’re a success. That sounds great, right?
The moment that you leave it, and push yourself to new limits, you’ll experience amazing growth. It will come through hearing NO, and learning from those rejections – but when you continue to be persistent, and continue trying to push yourself, you will truly realize your full potential.
What have you tried lately to push yourself out of your comfort zone? Tell us about it in the comments!
