Top reasons to step out of your comfort zone and take more risks
It’s in our name. We called ourselves ‘The Adventure Challenge’ because we love challenging people to step out of their normal routines and embrace adventure with the ones they love. But why is that so important? Why should you bother to step out of your comfort zone at all?
From huge leaps of faith to tiny changes in habit, taking risks outside of the familiar can be scary and uncomfortable. Even if things don’t go the way you hoped they would, taking a step out of your comfort zone is always worth it! Let’s get into the reasons why taking more risks will enrich your life, and help you have a lot of fun along the way!
8 Reasons to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
There’s nothing bad about our comfort zones. If you’ve built a life that you feel safe and secure in, you’re doing something right! But here’s the thing; if you never step out of your comfort zone, nothing ever changes. Here are 8 reasons to take more risks:
#1 - Find new favorites
We’ve all heard the phrase ‘You don’t know if you don’t try’ and that’s because it’s really true! You don’t know if you’re going to love something unless you take a risk and try it first. Tastes change over the years, so even things you used to dislike in the past could end up being worth trying again. When you step out of your comfort zone, you could be stepping towards your new favorite food, favorite hobby, or even your favorite person! When you look back, you’ll be so glad you took the risk.
#2 - Go deeper in your relationships
There are two ways that taking risks can give you new depths in your relationships. One way is to take risks together with a friend, partner, or family member; do something that scares you both! Whether that’s as small as a roller coaster or as huge as a move to a new city, taking on new adventures together will bring you closer than ever.
The other way that taking risks will deepen your relationships is to step out of your comfort zone in a way that moves you closer to another person. Say ‘I love you’ even if it scares you, tell someone how you really feel, share a memory with someone you trust. The truth is that when you step out of your comfort zone, you give your relationship the chance to move somewhere new and beautiful.
#3 - Create precious memories
If you’re anything like us, the normal, routine days start to blur together! It’s when you break the pattern of your usual life that memories start to stand out sharply. Taking risks will lead you into new experiences and pierce through the fog of familiarity. When you step out of your comfort zone, you are creating memories that will stay with you long after the discomfort of the risk has faded. That’s what adventure is all about!
#4 - Grow and challenge yourself
You’ve probably heard of the concept of a ‘Hierarchy of Needs’. This is a popular idea in psychology that suggests that humans have basic needs at the bottom of the hierarchy like for food, water, and safety. Once these needs are met, we start to have more complicated needs to thrive. At the very top of the hierarchy is the need to grow!
Growing, by definition, means change, and change is uncomfortable! You have to step out of your comfort zone to discover who you could become. Fulfilling your basic needs may keep you comfortable, but it’s only in taking risks that you start to satisfy your deepest needs and longings.
#5 - Get great stories
If you think back on your favorite stories, the ones you find in fiction and the ones you’ve heard people tell you in real life, they all have people taking risks. Whether it’s a superhero going up against unbeatable odds or your friend escaping a bear on a camping trip, there’s always some bravery involved. If you want stories to tell for yourself, you’ve got to step out of your comfort zone!
#6 - Stop wondering ‘what if?’
What if you’d asked them out? What if you’d taken that job in a new state? What if you’d gone traveling? We all have those ‘what if’ questions, but they don’t have to rule our thoughts! When you start to step out of your comfort zone, you no longer have to live with the regret of letting opportunities pass you by. Stop asking ‘what if’ and jump into taking risks!
#7 - Build a lifestyle of courage
When you start to step out of your comfort zone in small ways, you grow the muscle! Small risks help you to gain the confidence to take on bigger challenges and more significant risks. As you grow in being able to step out of your comfort zone, you’ll find yourself saying ‘yes’ way more often. Instead of being confined to your comfort zone, you’ll be constantly expanding it!
#8 - Pursue the life you want
You have dreams and deep desires. Are you doing anything to make them a reality? What is holding you back?
Achieving your dreams is going to take stepping out in risk. It’s going to be full of new things and uncomfortable change, but it’s going to be so worth it. So, whatever that dream is, find some small way you can step out of your comfort zone to get just that one step closer to it.
Final Thoughts on Why You Should Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
It’s scary, it’s difficult, but it’s the doorway to so much more. Every new adventure begins with a risk, and there’s nothing we love more than seeing people brought closer to one another and to their dreams because they’ve stepped out of their comfort zones. We love it so much that we have whole books full of ideas to help you take risks and experience something new! Check them out today.
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