50 Easy Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone in 2024

Six months ago, I noticed an unfortunate occurrence within myself.

I felt stuck.

I was rarely getting out of my comfort zone, due to kids, a busy routine, or just being lazy. Instead, I wanted to feel safe. So, I stayed in my house, talked to the same people, and participated in the same comfortable activities.

ways to get out of your comfort zone, how to and things to do

Day in. And day out.

When was the last time you tried something new?

Very little in my life had changed. But alas, this is no kind of life. It’s half-living. And there is no growth in this space.

So, I worked to step out of my comfort zone again in small, tangible ways. They were not grand gestures. But they certainly made a huge impact on my day.

You can do this too! Grab a little spark in your day, and challenge yourself as well. Gain back your confidence and adventure.

Plus, don’t miss the free printable!

50 Powerful Ways to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Commit to one small thing every day that scares you. You’ll feel more alive, confident, and free.

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1. Buy something you’d never buy at the grocery store

2. Do something your inner kid loves: like a roller coaster ride, snowboarding, or water slide

3. Start learning a new language

4. Reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while

5. Try a new recipe

6. Introduce yourself to someone new

7. Turn your shower to cold at the end (Find other ways to wildly boosts energy)

8. Set up a Zoom (or real-life) meeting with people you’ve never talked with before

the best ways to get out of your comfort zone, things to do to leave in a relationship examples

9. Push yourself on your clothing choices (wear a two-piece swimsuit, heels, a dress shirt, etc.)

10. Start a challenge with a friend. Or I love the Spar! app for group challenges!

Related:

11. Take a new route for your walk or car ride

12. Visit a new place (park, restaurant, building, etc)

13. Volunteer

14. Ask for a discount

15. Try a new workout (yoga, pilates, HIIT, kickboxing, running, Zumba)

16. Join Toastmasters to cure your public speaking fears

17. Write yourself a note using your non-dominant hand

18. Do a digital detox for at least a day

19. Take a dance lesson

20. Take a creative class like music, art, or cooking

21. Commit to saying hi to everyone you meet on your next walk

22. Listen to a music genre you never do

“We are always getting ready to live, but never living.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

23. Read something you’d never normally read. Gain a new perspective.

*Read:

24. Take yourself out on a date (bonus if you eat by yourself in public)

25. Watch something different (documentaries, animation, etc.)

woman hiking

Related Post: How to Motivate Yourself When You’re Low

26. Skip the news for a day

27. Try fasting (as always, speak with your doctor before trying anything health-related)

28. Order a new coffee drink at your favorite coffee place

29. Tell someone how much you appreciate them

30. Write in a journal (if you normally do not)

31. Declutter

32. Try being vegan for a day

33. Speak out online about something you care about

34. Sleep on the floor

35. Purposely sit in the wrong seat

36. Start that book or project you’ve always wanted to start.

*Need help envisioning it?

37. Ask someone for a recommendation (What’s the best wine? The best book? The best dish?)

38. Wake up at 5am in the morning one day

39. Purposely switch up your morning routine, then do it to your night routine too

40. Dance (bonus points for filming it)

41. Ask for something that you don’t see on the menu

42. Dress up for the next holiday (make your own Halloween costume)

43. Give someone a compliment

44. Invite someone you don’t know well to lunch

45. Ask for feedback (at work, at home, etc.)

46. Respond with something besides “good” when someone asks how you are

47. Begin learning a new instrument

48. Try meditation (it is challenging, but extremely rewarding.)

49. Give someone a spontaneous and creative gift without their input

50. Take a picture every day for a month

Related Post: Great Mindset Activities for Kids or Adults

Would you love these 50 ways in a handy printable? Grab it below! Then, let’s dig into fears, a fun challenge, and inspiring quotes!

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What Are You Afraid of?

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Now, let’s take an individual look at the things that are holding you back.

First, make a list of what you are afraid of. They may be giant elephants or tiny mice. Either way, write down your fears.

Then, do something that faces them head-on.

Here are ten items that may be on your list:

  • Other people’s opinions (this keeps us from speaking our minds or asking for feedback)
  • Rejection (the fear of putting yourself out there or being open)
  • Asking for help when you need it
  • Risk (optional surgeries, investing, leaving a job
  • Making a mistake
  • Travel
  • Change (new job, new friends, new environment etc)
  • Discomfort (especially in situations you are not used to)
  • Driving on the interstate with your husband next to you (ok, this one is on my list, ha!)

The time is now. So, ask yourself, “what scares you?” Then, get to work.

What are you afraid of? Examples of things to do to step out of your comfort zone

Need a push? Take the Thirty Day Challenge!

Next, commit to one month. Do something small that forces you to leave your comfort zone every day for thirty days. Then, use the quotes below to keep you motivated!

*During my 30-day comfort zone challenge: I tried lots of vegan recipes, went on a water slide, wore a bikini for the first time, braided my hair, got LASIK eye surgery, tried Kimchi, and reached out to others for work MUCH more often.

It was a liberating and exciting month! Here are more 30 day challenge ideas too! >>

The Personal Growth Pack

*If you need a little more of a push, check out the digital Personal Growth Planner! It features more challenges, trackers, and proven strategies to help you follow through!

personal growth planner

Inspiring Quotes to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

1.“A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.” -John Assaraf

2. “When you go out of your comfort zone and it works, there’s nothing more satisfying.” -Kristen Wiig

3. “Great people do things before they’re ready.” -Amy Poehler

*See similar growth mindset quotes

4. “The comfort zone is the great enemy of courage and confidence.”

-Brian Tracy

5. “Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone.” -Billy Cox

6. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Eleanor Roosevelt

"Do one thing every day that scares you." Examples and quotes to step out of your comfort zone

Other Motivational Quote Posts:

7. “Are you really happy or just comfortable?” -Anonymous

8. “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” Neale Donald Walsch

9. “By leaving your comfort zone behind and taking a leap of faith into something new, you find out who you are truly capable of becoming.” -Anonymous

10. “Step outside of your comfort zone because that’s the only way you’re going to grow.” – Madeline Brewer

11. “Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.” ― Shannon L. Alder

12. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” 

-Anonymous

13. “The best piece of advice someone has ever given me was ‘do it scared.’

And no matter if you’re scared, just go ahead and do it anyway because you might as well do it scared, so it will get done and you will feel so much better if you step out of your comfort zone.” – Sherri Shepherd

14. “Outside your comfort zone is the only place worth living.” –Karina Bliss

branching out; get out of your comfort zone quotes and activities

15. “The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.” ― Benedict Cumberbatch

16. “Even the smallest changes in our daily routine can create incredible ripple effects that expand our vision of what is possible.” ― Charles F. Glassman

17. “Real change is difficult at the beginning, but gorgeous at the end. Change begins the moment you get the courage and step outside your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ― Roy T. Bennett

18. “We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our comfort zone.” – Ray Bennett

Related: Best Bucket List Ideas to do

19. “The comfort zone is nothing else but a graveyard for your dreams & ideas.” -Anonymous

20. “You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You cannot have both.” 

-Brene Brown

21. “Before anything great is really achieved, your comfort zone must be disturbed.” – Ray Lewis

22. “The hardest thing to do is leaving your comfort zone. But you have to let go of the life you’re familiar with and take the risk to live the life you dream about.” -T. Arigo

23. “Face the fear, even if it’s only a tiptoe outside of your comfort zone instead of a leap. Progress is progress.” -Annette White

24. “The only thing that is stopping you from where you are to where you want to go is your comfort zone.” 

– Dhaval Gaudier

25. “You have to be uncomfortable in order to be successful, in some ways. If you stay in your comfort zone you would never do the things that you need to do.” Lights Poxlietner

26. “A ship is always safe at the shore-but that is not what it is built for.” -Albert Einstein

things to do to leave your comfort zone and grow quote

Related Post: 99 Good Habits to Change Your Life

27. “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.”– Abraham Maslow

28. Whenever you feel uncomfortable, instead of retreating back into your old comfort zone, pat yourself on the back and say, “I must be growing,” and continue moving forward.” – T. Harv Eker

29. “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

30. “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”– Brian Tracy

31. “A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.”

 Denis Waitley

32. “My experience is that you cannot have everything you want but you can have anything you really want. You just need to decide what it is and then plan your exit from the comfort zone.”– Jonathan Farrington

33. “Comfort zones are plush lined coffins. When you stay in your plush lined coffins, you die.”– Stan Dale

Remember, it’s the small step forward that you take even when it’s hard.

Related: 175 Self-Reflection Questions To Ask

FAQs About Branching Out

Why is it hard to leave your comfort zone?

Leaving your comfort zone is uncomfortable and scary. There is no clear roadmap when we step outside that comfortable place. This can cause anxiety and fear. However, when you keep moving forward, you will eventually reach the growth zone.

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How do you start to get out of your comfort zone?

When breaking out of your comfort zone, take small steps to help mitigate any fear or stress.

Start with one S.M.A.R.T. personal goal outside your comfort zone.

Dr. Danielle Kelvas, MD, notes, “make small, little changes gradually over time. Choose one thing, and do this consistently for 1-3 months. Then make another small change. Trying to do large things, or make too many changes, all at once is overwhelming. And it increases your chance of failure.”

What are the positive benefits of leaving your comfort zone?

When you branch out and try something new, you will:

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Something to Consider With Branching Out

That’s it! It’s time to change directions and try something new!

After committing to putting myself out there more, I quickly realized that the HABIT of taking risks makes you more likely to expand your horizons and try other new things.

It’s a snowball effect. You start with one and end with a solid fort of progress.

So, what are you waiting for?

What do you think are the best ways to get out of your comfort zone? Will you join the challenge?

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4 Comments

  1. I do not agree with some of these ideas especially #27… “try fasting”??? That is not healthy for anyone to do for a whole day…

    1. Hi Erica,
      I never recommended that you fast for an entire day. These are simply ideas for branching out and trying new things. (Some people find intermittent fasting to be beneficial.) But as always, you should talk with your doctor before doing anything health-related. And I added that to #27.

      1. Hi Jenn
        My husband and I can’t wait to start this challenge. We look forward to surprising each other as we to have slipped into a comfort zone and its time to leave.
        Darlene and Steve

        1. Have fun with it Darlene! And please share the kinds of things you end up trying. It’s so inspiring to hear about what others do!

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