Facing your fear

You may have seen the many posters and pictures around stating “Face your fears and do it anyway.”

Easy to say.  How do you make it easier to do?

We are not all Wim Hof but his quote below is something I totally support.

Here are the 3 things that I do to help create the bravery to step outside the comfort zone, and then stay out there until the comfort zone grows and you feel the power.

Perfectionism can be a big factor in preventing you stepping outside that comfort zone.  The desire to not look silly, make a mistake, or not be brilliant at something will keep you where you are.

If you want to step outside the comfort zone, accept you will make a mistake, you will get things wrong, you will not be the best.  And that is OK!

Let go of perfectionism and do your best.  Your best is always good enough.  And the brilliant thing is, your best can get better when you then apply tip number 2.

If you have never heard the story about bamboo, it is a great one.  (You can read it here or watch a video here).

Often when you do something new it appears that you are not making any progress, or perhaps progress is slow.  The key is to keep going.

Think of an aeroplane.  It does not take off straight away but builds up momentum down the runway until that critical speed is reached and it can take off.

By being consistent, doing that thing over and over again, you will also reach that point and take off.

To step outside your comfort zone, and then stay in that uncomfortable place for a while you need a big enough purpose.

Doing park run for me is a challenge – I dont enjoy running and would prefer to stay in bed on a Saturday morning.  My purpose however is to stay fit enough to maintain my ability to umpire netball.  Out of season, park run gives me that ability.

I recently decided to follow Wim Hof and do the cold water challenge.  My purpose for this – I ask clients to do things they don’t want to do and so I want to walk the talk and do the same.  This then gives me the confidence to tell people they can because my experience shows it is possible.

For more information on how I use these three techniques in park run, click here.

Perfectionism, consistency and purpose when combined will help you take that step outside of your comfort zone and claim your power.  Over time, that comfort zone grows – and for more information on how to make that comfort zone bigger and bigger, read on here.

What challenge are you now prepared to take on to increase your comfort zone?

Caroline Cavanagh is an anxiety specialist  and hypnotherapist in Salisbury, Wiltshire.  She is an author and public speaker and would love to talk to you if you would like to know more about her work