We found out the last event of the year was a Christmas party at the home of the outgoing chapter president. 

Who doesn't love going to a party where they don't know anyone? 

Yeah... we hesitated. (That hesitation is a clear sign you'll be outside your comfort zone!) 

But, we went.   

It was a nice gathering and we did our best to fight through the awkwardness, introduce ourselves and get to know people. 

It's been many years since that party. 

Two of the people we met there (including the guy who hosted the party) are some of our best friends to this day. They've been mentors in our business as we have for them. I'm so glad we did not stay at home, in our comfort zone.    

Author Roy T. Bennett said, “The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.”

Sounds great to me! Yet we all know it's not where the growth or the breakthroughs come from. 

But... how do you know if you're "in it" or not? Here are a few general examples of inside versus outside the comfort zone:

In your comfort zone: Your favorite place to go for lunch and the thing you most like to order.

Out of your comfort zone: A lunch place you’ve never been to, ordering something you’ve never tried.

Inside: Meeting with the group you’ve been a part/member of for years at the same meeting spot.

Outside: Meeting a new group of people in a different meeting spot.

Inside: Meeting up with a friend and catching up on what’s new.

Outside: Striking up a conversation with a stranger and getting to know them.

Inside: Going to work and doing the same tasks that you do each morning.

Outside: Starting a new job, walking in with no idea exactly how things function.

Inside: Being at a family get-together in the home of a relative.

Outside: Being in a stranger’s house at a party full of people you don’t know.

Inside: Calling one of your best customers to talk to them about your product.

Outside: Cold-calling a prospective customer who doesn’t know you or your product.

In other words - it's not safe, it's not familiar, it feels a little scary. After seeing these examples, I am sure you can think of many in your own life. 

Jack Canfield has said, “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” 

And that means it’s also outside your comfort zone.

Every time you have an opportunity to get outside your comfort zone, it expands.

As we say in the Go for No! book, the comfort is never static. It’s either expanding or it’s shrinking.

List your own comfort zones.

And then work on stepping outside of them often and see how your life changes for the better.