Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
Posted on 10. May, 2009 by Laura-Jane - Whimfield in Inspirations
Stepping out of your comfort zone feels scary. Let’s face it; stepping out of your comfort zone feels bad.
It’s awkward. You don’t know what you’re doing. You feel uncomfortable. You just want to retreat to where you feel safe.
But we all have to step out of our comfort zones in one way or another. Sometimes they’re major steps and sometimes they’re minor steps, but the principles stay the same.
Let’s take Cameron and horses as an example. He’s an animal lover, but he’ll be the first to admit that he sometimes prefers admiring animals from afar. (Especially when they are large and have big tongues.) Here’ s Cameron stepping out of his horse comfort zone. Let it be a lesson to us all!
Stepping out of your comfort zone
1. Assess the challenge:
What are you about to do? Can you do research so that you know what you’re in for? Prepare yourself mentally and physically as best as you can. Don’t go in blindly. Talk yourself through it.
Example: Cameron’s assessing this great beast. He’s asking himself, “What am I doing here? Am I going to be OK? Do I really want to touch this giant animal?” And he’s remembering what it’s like to touch a horse. He’s remembering what to do. He’s psyching himself up!
2. Start slowly if you can:
Can you practice first? Can you bring in someone to support you? Can you do a trial run? Can you dip your toe in before plunging in head first?
Example: “See, it’s not so bad, is it? Maybe I can handle the big leagues?”
3. Take the plunge:
At some point you have to step out of your comfort zone for real. If you’ve prepared well, started slow, and if you know that it’s going to feel a bit awkward, you’re ready to take the plunge.
Example: “Oh man, this feels weird! I hate this! What am I doing??????? I want to get out!!”
4. Adjust:
You plunged in. You persevered through the discomfort and anxiety, and you didn’t give up. Guess what? Now you’re starting to adjust.
Example: “Ooh, wait now, maybe it’s not so bad after all. You know what? I kind of like this. You’re a nice horsey!”
5. Succeed:
It was awkward. You wanted to get out but you didn’t. You persevered and now it’s over. Beaming faces and proud smiles and big sighs of relief commence.
Example: “I petted a horse and I’m OK!”
In many ways, stepping out of your comfort zone is a lot like what I wrote about bothering to love and attain happiness. It’s hard and it hurts and it’d be easier not to. But it is so worth it.
Laura-Jane - Whimfield
May 10th, 2009
PS: Cameron is my muse. He’s not really that freaked out of horses, but the pictures let me tell the story!
Gary Gray
May 10th, 2009
Hi L-J
Great post and nice pictures. Are your horsey friends the two at the Orwell Corner Historic Village?
We used to visit there when the girls were much younger. They always loved to visit with the horses and sometimes get a ride. (I think that they had a wagon or something that the kids could ride on) One day we found some kittens and of course the girls wanted to bring them home.
We always enjoyed our visit to the Orwell Corner Historic Village.
It was very brave of Cam to step outside of his comfort zone and become your muse. I am not that brave around large animals like horses either.
I traveled to Summerside on Saturday with friends and on the way I noticed a couple of girls riding horses. I think that kind of riding is called English riding.
It must have been Birch Lane Farm Inc.
By the way if you visit the area by the Montague river just past Lane’s Cottages you will find a lane named after Big Ben. (the legendary show jumping horse) (at least it was there the last time I checked)
http://www.thehorseguide.com/LegendaryHorses/BigBen.htm
Ian Millar was Ben’s rider and Ian’s mom lived there until she died a few years ago. (just a wee bit of horsey trivia)
Thanks for another great post.
Smiles :o)
Gary
christy
May 10th, 2009
great post!! i’m scared of anything animal large enough to hurt me. ok and some animals that aren’t large enough to hurt me too (toads). LOL. for some reason though when you say to “step out of your comfort zone” i think you really aren’t meaning to go pet horses. i think my comfort zone is being shy at church / parties / places where there are lots of people.
Laura-Jane - Whimfield
May 10th, 2009
Gary – you’re right! You’ve got an eye for horses and scenery. It was at Orwell Corner Historic Village. What a gorgeous spot. Hope you had a good time in Summerside. The last time I was in Summerside I carpooled with a bunch of people and I felt very abnormally car-sick, which was quite embarrassing. I think I’m used to the movement of our really old beast of a car and the movement of new cars throws me off.
Christy? Shy? I find that hard to believe! Although there’s nothing wrong with being shy. Many sides of me are shy, too. I’ve often been called a snob of sorts but usually it’s more that I’ve felt shy and awkward. I am working on that, though, and trying to push myself to worry less and talk more. And you’re right about this post not really being about horses at all!!!! I am, in fact, trying to motivate myself……………………and hoping that I can follow my own advice.
Andy Collier
May 11th, 2009
You could have started him on ponies and worked up to horses!
My mother-in-law has a cute shaggy Newfoundland pony named Ginger that would be a good first impression for horsephobes. Then again she has a cantankerous Arabian stallion tat is definitely not a good first impression too….
Rain
May 12th, 2009
Gosh, I feel like I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone for the last 6 years!!! Nice photos!
Julie K.
May 12th, 2009
Well once Kevin and I move there I would be more than happy to teach you everything you need to know about handling horses safely! Avalon and May are very mellow mares. Connor is a little pushy and very curious about everything and would definitely want to check both of you out! A plentiful supply of carrots and they will be your friends for life! :)
warren
May 12th, 2009
Next it’s time to introduce him to clowns and elevators and the number 13!
Sorry, don’t mean to poke fun. It’s funny how so many things aren’t as bad after we give it a shot. I sort of smiled seeing the pictures you posted…like you said, they almost speak for themselves!
Nora
May 12th, 2009
Beautiful pictures of the horses……..I love horses……my daughter when she was 4 and 5 would run right up to great big horses and hug there legs. You know none of them even flinched ….must have been well trained or they knew she was little and didn’t know any better. We took our kids horse back riding on the beach it was awesome…..next is riding the horse.
Julie K.
May 12th, 2009
Most horses are pretty good with small children and special people. I have seen a horse protect an injured dog from a cow.
The horse I leased when I was stationed in Germany protected me from a very angry horned billy goat twice by jumping in front of me and pawing the ground with his front leg in an aggressive manner until the goat backed off. I was quite relieved as the last time the goat had attacked someone he broke their arm. Normally he and the goat were good buddies. I really, really liked that horse a lot.
My Mother has a pic of me when I was about 3 trying to pull away from her to get to the big draft horse a few feet away.
mom Marjorie
May 13th, 2009
loved this photo story (and yet I know it symbolizes other stuff too.)
Anyway, Laura-Jane, your grandfather George Cullerne, who was rather small, was a horseman in World War 1, and then at five foot three and a half inches tall, worked in the hot hot hot Australian outback for a year or more in the 1920’s; At Goonumblah he had to hitch up SIX of the hugest draft horses to a single piece of farm machinery, all by himself, and then actually manoeuvre these six horses to do the farm labour.
Yet I remember as a teenager, when we’d go to a ranch on the Caribou, he was very cautious around horses!
As for me, I always wished for more of a horsey life than the tidbits I’ve managed to experience.
Rufus Monk
May 16th, 2009
Hello!
I am briefly breaking my status as a Whimfield lurker to officially protest Cam getting a haircut. Not that it is bad haircut; he looks great. But he looked so very cool with the locks.
(my evidence: http://whimfield.com/2009/04/stop-and-think/ )
Hair or not, as always, you two are awesome.
Vicki
May 24th, 2009
Cam, I agree with Rufus. I think your curly locks suit you. Let your hair down Cam!!