I admit it, I like staying in my comfort zone. After all, it is "comfortable" there. But I am well aware that "comfortable" encourages complacency. And doing what has become "comfortable" doesn’t allow me (or anyone of us) to reach peak performance. We become trapped by personal perceptions and artificial limitations we put on ourselves.

It's very easy to hide in our comfort zone or get stuck there for a very long time. Getting out of it is another matter altogether...even though it is worth the effort.

When we hold ourselves back and hide in our comfort zone, we are effectively saying "no" to life. So, how do we move forward and chip away at that comfort zone? Here are some suggestions to get you started:

1. Focus on the benefits—increased knowledge and skills, new friendships, sense of accomplishment, increased confidence, newfound energy…to name a few.
   
   
2. Find a friend—you can both work on expanding your comfort zone and cheer each other on during the process.
   
   
3. Make a commitment—if you commit to stretching yourself and tell others about it, you are far more likely to stick with it.
   
   
4. Create a plan—identify specific actions and timeframes to make the process more manageable and the goal more achievable.
   
   
5. Celebrate small steps and successes—take it a step at a time and acknowledge every effort and every accomplishment. Then reward yourself!

If we keep doing what’s ordinary, then our life experience will continue to be ordinary. Encouraging ourselves and others to expand and explore the unknown is how we grow as people and as professionals.

So…seize the season. Take a small step and try something new right now; it might lead to something big. What have you got to gain?