My comfort zone was a nice place. Things were easy, and there was no pressure to perform.
When March 2020 arrived, the world as we know it changed. I changed.
Here’s the story of how I stepped out of my comfort zone.
My comfort zone was well, comfortable
I got started in freelance copywriting as a ghost writer. I was working with someone who’d find clients, and the only thing I had to do was write. I never so much as interacted with the clients.
That was very comfortable. My life consisted of writing and getting paid.
There was absolutely no pressure. While that was nice, I was never thrust into the deep end.
I was content to be behind the scenes all the time. I was totally cool being the secret weapon clients didn’t know about.
This meant I wasn't in charge of how my business played out.
I didn't put myself out there. Whether that was fear, insecurity, self doubt, or self worth, it kept me stuck.
Leaving my comfort zone
Jennie and I decided to do a webinar when the pandemic started.
Although I’d done webinars in the past, this one was different. Before, I didn’t do them regularly or with any excitement. It was just something else that needed doing.
This webinar was a game changer. We created and launched it in a week. Not only did I see what could happen with speed to implementation, It also showed me the impact that I can have on people.
We helped people by giving out important information for free. Then we made an offer that was a pay-what-you-can model, which made it accessible.
It felt good knowing I could do that.
When it was time to create the podcast, we did a second webinar with similar results.
And of course, we made money.
I suddenly found myself on the hook as I had to put myself out there. Even though I was doing it with a partner, I had to step up. I couldn’t hide in the shadows anymore.
That was way out of my comfort zone.
I started to do more webinars. Truth be told, I've really enjoyed it.
Like that, my comfort zone was well behind me.
The journey never ends
I love that I got to meet and know some really incredible people. I’m now planning a summit.
That’s one of the biggest things I’ve done in the last ten years.
None of this is in my comfort zone. I want to stop it all and go hide back under a rock and hope that somebody is going to pay me to live there. Because that would be easier.
Getting out of your comfort zone is uncomfortable.
I know many coaches make it sound like it can be easily faked. “Oh, find your comfort zone and step out of it.”
You can be frozen for years or decades before you're ready to step out. Sometimes you step out and you don't even realize it. As soon as you do, you want to run back in.
But that's not the way to go about it.
How to step out of your comfort zone
The first thing is realizing where your comfort zone is. Then accept the fact stepping out is not going to be a walk in a park.
Recognize that it's not something you're just going to be able to do.
You’ll have to work up to it. I didn’t go from invisible to being everywhere overnight.
I started slow.
I started with a webinar. And then I did another one. Then I did something else.
Now I'm running ads and doing a summit in front of many people.
You can't go from zero to 800 in the blink of an eye.
No one is expecting that of you. It is better to go from zero to one. Baby steps, as it were.
Have you been putting off reaching out to be a guest on that podcast?
Maybe you’re uncomfortable addressing so many people. You can start by firing off a simple email to the host.
You don't have to go and do a whole huge campaign. You don’t have to do everything today.
But you do have to do one thing today. Then build on it tomorrow, and build more the day after.
I left my comfort zone behind, you can do the same
If you look at me now, compared to where I was a year ago, or two years ago, or five years ago, or 10 years ago, it's a huge change. I’ve come far.
That didn't all happen at once. It wasn't like I woke up one day and I was a whole new person.
Let's face it, there are years of therapy in there. There are years of me working on myself and facing so many things.
But it all starts with one step. Just one, that's all you need to take today.
If you can take one step, you can take the second step tomorrow. You can take the third step the day after.
If you want to talk about how you can start to get out of your comfort zone… let’s chat. We’ll brainstorm, come up with some ideas, and I’ll share how I can help you make it happen.
