Picture the scene.

You’ve been ‘volunteered’ to make a presentation to some influential people in your field. It’s in front of a group of about 30 – 40 people on a small stage. It’s late notice and, although it’s on a topic you know inside out, you only have one evening to prepare for it.

Now with it being such late notice and with you having been volunteered for the role, you can easily make an excuse without losing face, ‘I would love to but…’

Or you can go for it.

Which do you choose?

Ok, so this is hypothetical and I chose public speaking because it’s high up many people’s list of fears.  But you can replace it with anything that you would consider a challenge.

Something that would require you step outside of your comfort zone.

When you’re met with a situation like this there are only two options:

Do it or don’t do it.

Stepping outside of your comfort zone can be very challenging and often we stay firmly in it. It’s comfy there and you can avoid your fears and scary things you know only really exist in your imagination – but what if they’re true?.

OK but what if you were to get out of your comfort zone more often?

What if you were to take a few more risks? Imagine the opportunities that would present themselves.

Here’s a short film about building confidence.

3 tips to help prise you out of your comfort zone.

1) Increase your pace.
By moving faster it’s easier to get out of your comfort zone.

Increased pace gives you momentum and gives a little boost of courage, often just enough to overcome the comfort of staying where you are now and really going for it.

2) Find the right team.
It’s said that you become like the people you spend most of your time with. Think about the people who you spend most of your time with. Do they encourage you to get out of your comfort zone or would they prefer you stayed just where you were?

When we work with young people if their peers aren’t encouraging we often suggest they either lead their group or leave their group.

3) Make it fun.
It’s so much easier to get out of your comfort zone and face your worries and fears if you can make it fun.

I once worked with a group who were organising bungee jumps and I was amazed at the way they managed to get so many people to go up and jump off. They did it very quickly! And most importantly the team were all smiling, joking and making it fun.

Granted some people were laughing through gritted teeth but they all jumped.

So the next time you find yourself feeling too comfortable up your pace, surround yourself with the right team and have some fun.

Be Brilliant!

Michael

PS We love to hear how you’re getting on with your ’90 Days’. Please send your stories, comments and suggestions to [email protected]