Self-esteem and confidence plays a big role in emotional wellness, which is why it’s important to actively look at ways of bolstering both. One way of doing that is by breaking out of your comfort zone. Research has shown that the less willing we are to experience sadness, the more prone we are to anxiety and depression. You only have to look at successful athletes, creatives and leaders to see that being successful means going the extra mile.
Here is a five-step plan you can use to do the same:
1. Look at the cost of playing safe
For many of us, it’s easier to play safe than take risks. However, the more you invest, the greater the rewards. So reflect on what you could be giving up by avoiding risk and staying in your comfort zone. Whether it’s in your personal life, or career, be as specific as possible. What tasks, people, conversations and emotions do you avoid? And what has doing that cost you?
2. Be compassionate to yourself
Looking at what you’ve lost will elicit a host of unwanted thoughts and emotions that many of us would prefer not to acknowledge. It can also be tempting to blame yourself for procrastinating, which can lead to cycle of shame. Instead, to improve, we need to be able to be compassionate towards ourselves.
3. There’s no happiness without unhappiness
You must be able to need to be able to embrace the emotions that, up until now, you may have been avoiding. Rejection and failure are part of life. Without them, we wouldn’t have success and happiness. So, instead of avoiding them, accept them. Use them as tools to grow better.
4. Small steps to big rewards
Recognise your limitations too. The key to long-term success and breaking out of our comfort zone is to identify when to take action and when to stand still. Make a list of what you want to achieve, but break your goals and action plan down into manageable steps. Small, simple steps are often the best way to achieve big goals.
5. Be accountable for successes
Most of us will blame ourselves for failure, but achievement is one of the greatest feelings you can have, so recognise when you achieve something – no matter how small. This is the key to true emotional wellness. When we recognise our achievements, we gain self-worth.