Top 10 Ways to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Most of us tend to reside in our comfort zones. But to seek growth, everyone has to step out at some point. New experiences can be scary, but once overcome you realize you have bigger opportunities than you thought, which can be very rewarding in the end. If you are one who seeks self-improvement, look no further onto this list.
The Top Ten
1 Solve a math problem

This is probably the fastest way to get out of your comfort zone. Simply look up a math website or google math problems you find unfamiliar, and try solving them, even if the result is wrong. If you want to go further, proofs are your friend. Otherwise if math isn't your strongest spot, go back to the basics, and work your way up through. Remember that math isn't taught like other subjects like history; you can learn the Peloponnesian War without any prior knowledge of other historical events, but with math you have to build your skills up in order to understand more advanced subjects. You may not enjoy it at first day, but your mind would be better off in the long term.

2 Get a retail job

This is something I cannot stress further, especially if you are either in your late teens or a young adult. This was something I took as a first part-time job, and it was pretty stressful at first. Everything was fast paced and some people were jerks, but it helped me reconsider how I interact with people. Now I'm grateful that having this job made me taste a part of the real world.

3 Explore an area you haven't seen before

It could be a city or in your own neighborhood. Wander for a bit, but be cautious of dangerous places. The positive side is that if you happen to get lost around the area while heading to a destination, at least you are more familiar on where you're heading to.

You'll immerse yourself in different cultures, different people. I'd not recommend it if you are financially unstable though.

4 Be around with new people

If you find yourself socially awkward, then look no further. Just go to a local place and be around unfamiliar people. Complimenting their looks or gifting something to them for the sake of kindness is a good start. Don't wait for them to converse with you. Initiate a conversation, ask them questions, even if you sound awkward. In the end it's a good buildup for your social skills.

5 Face your worst fear

Fear is probably the most difficult thing to deal with, however these can be overcome, but it's a way to know yourself better and to seek growth.
Do you have a fear of heights? Why not stand on a high place?
Do you fear public speaking? Why not converse with other people instead?
Do you fear being in bodies of water? Why not try forcing yourself to swim in a shallow swimming pool, then a beach, and/or a lake. Baby steps do wonders. Discovering humor between these fears seems to be the most effective dealing with anxiety, at least in my experience. Alternatively you can have someone to encourage you, which helps a lot in my case.

6 Workout

You don't have to go to a gym in order to work out. A handful of exercises can be done at home, or more if you have the gym equipment. If you're new, start by doing 10 pushups, 10 sit ups, and/or 10 squats a day, then if you're fit enough, you can try diamond pushups, pull-ups, or pike pushups. Did you also know that working out benefits your mental health?

7 Eat your least favorite food

This may be hard for some, although people's taste can change overtime. A good way to do this is by combining the food with one of the foods you like. A not-so-serious item but a fun challenge to consider.

I don't eat meat other than fish and I wouldn't eat rotten or moldy food. Besides that I am happy with pretty much anything.

8 Learn a new instrument

If you're into music, then why not try experimenting with instruments? It's shown in many studies that learning an instrument can improve overall cognitive performance. That being said, I am glad to experience having learned how to play the piano and a little bit of the drums.

9 Ask yourself tough questions

Philosophical questions are one of the best examples of tough questions. Examples would be:
Would you be immortal, or live a normal human life?
If a bird flies inside a truck, does the weight of the truck change?
Does free will exist? Or are all our actions predetermined?
How can you prove that you know something? Or how do you know that you know?

10 Enlist in the army

A great opportunity to travel to other countries and other benefits. Training and boot camp may be hard, but it's a good choice if you have no idea what to do in the future.

The Contenders
11 Volunteer

Not only you can seek out your local community and help contribute in a project, but you are putting yourself around interesting people who are trying to better their life. In turn this helps you be more confident around people. I've done this before and saw a handful of introverts doing it as well. If they can, you can too.

12 Learn a language

Spanish, French, German, or Portuguese are easy languages to learn from an English speaker's standpoint. Although difficulty might vary depending on your native language.

13 Try a new recipe

Or if you're a beginner cook, try basic recipes like scrambled egg or pasta. Those recipes are both cheap and are just enough to provide you good nutrition. Optionally, you can proceed to the more complex recipes once you get more comfortable with the cooking equipment.

14 Be offline for a day

Or for a week. Social media can be very addicting. Often we have urges to check our notifications every few minutes or so. Being offline can give peace of mind but it's a hard task for some.

15 Write a book

I thought this was one of the easiest things to do, but in fact it's literally the opposite. You have to keep consistencies with the characters and the plot, not to mention making the sentences connect each other and avoiding plot holes. I've encountered writers block in numerous stories that I forgot who were my main characters' personalities and the plotline. I've found out taking notes and making outlines for your story really helps especially while writing my draft. One hardest obstacle is that you need perseverance, at least for me.

Who knows your work may reach into the mainstream?

16 Explore new music genres

Might be insignificant compared to the other activities, but you may find yourself a new music genre that you like.

17 Take an academic course

Preferably a free course of any subject. Or if you have guts, take a course of a subject you think is your major weakness.

18 Do some gardening

Not only you can make your garden look beautiful, but you can save some money by growing food too. It's also one of the most comfortable activities you can do since it's associated with reduced anxiety and depression.

Gardening seems like a fun hobby to pick up. And you can also eat the vegetables you grow, so it's both rewarding and relaxing.

19 Draw a picture

Helps develop your artistic skills. It doesn't have to be perfect, just allow those happy little accidents to come.

20 Try to break a world record

This may require sheer dedication depending on the world record you want to break, but it is worth it if you have the consistent will.

21 Kick a bad habit
22 Crack a smile to someone

A small step out of your comfort zone, but it doesn't hurt to make someone's day better.

23 Repair old clothes

I've repaired and modified some of my clothes in the past. I especially remember stitching up a small hole in a t-shirt I was wearing once.

Takes some fine motor skills, but you'll be left with less waste and end up buying less clothes.

24 Solve riddles

They're pretty satisfying once you figure those brain teasers out.

25 Try to solve a Rubik's Cube

You need some grit in order to solve a rubik's cube, but the outcome is sweeter than most activities if you're a puzzle solver.

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