Attitude / Risks, Comfort zones / Students, youth

Take Risks….Step out of Comfort Zone…

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Child’s love affair with the comfort zone starts as early as early as few days after the birth.  He feels comfortable and safe in the arms of only the mother  and generally refuses to go with anyone else. But, to achieve overall balanced growth the child has to leave that comfort zone and learn to walk, eat and drink on his own. 

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The earlier the child gets out of the comfort zone better it is for him and the parents. The parents understand this but are very uncomfortable when the child goes out of sight. In fact, come to think of it, actually the child, since the time it gets comfortable on his/ her own two feet wants to venture out of the comfort zone and try out new things but the parents hesitate to allow it the freedom to do that. 

This should we / shouldn’t we allow game continues till either the parents realise their responsibility and give the child freedom of action (commensurate with the age of the child) or the child takes a leap of faith (from under the watchful eyes of the parents). The earlier it happens better it is for both. 

The tendency to be in comfort zones remains with the child all his life. In schools, it is reflected in the form of liking for particular subjects in which he feels comfortable (finds easier) or playing only particular games, avoiding stage. Students tend to avoid studying subjects in which they feel they are weak. I have seen students not selecting particular subjects in school because of fear of failure. The selection should be based on liking/ love and never be based on fear. This is where the role of parents and teachers become important. They have to push the child out of the comfort zones by convincing him, making him believe in himself or, if required, even pushing him a bit. If a child is scared of the swimming pool there are numerous ways to help him overcome the fear ranging from various swimming aids, expert coaching, incentives or may be pushing into the pool. Child has to realise that he has to break out of the comfort zone to excel. 

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Breaking free from the comfort zones won’t happen overnight. It can be a prolonged process requiring efforts not just from the child but also from the parents, teachers and the peers. A step by step process, which may start with baby steps to develop his confidence slowly. Aim is to make him believe in his abilities.

First, the child has to decide his goal, what he wants to achieve. This is not easy at the tender age the child is. Goals can be short and long term. Once the goal has been set than the path to the goal has to be decided. The child has to understand that there is no shortcut, he has to reach the goal on his own two feet. Once that is understood than then the step by step process of preparation, trials and actions starts. 

It’s always good to introduce the child to a role model, someone he can relate to. Someone preferably from real life, not from past history or mythology, may be a peer/ senior from the same school or the neighborhood/ within the family. There is no comparison being made, just the child is encouraged to follow the success model of the role model (If he can do it, you can do it too). 

One has to break out from the confines of the comfort zones, challenge the fears, push himself/ herself to the limit to achieve success/ excellence.

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57 comments

  2. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is truly terrifying but necessary for personal growth and development. It is so important to remember that life really does start outside of your comfort zone.

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  6. I believe in independence and accountability, stepping out of your comfort zone is always terrifying but it’s the only way to learn about resilience. Thanks for this post!

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  10. The ability to take risks and step out of our comfort zone is how we can grow into a wiser and more mature person. Thanks for sharing this blog.

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  13. Stepping outside your comfort zone is always difficult – but it’s important! Thanks for sharing.

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  15. It makes sense that our comfort zones evolve as we grow older. I think it is important to push ourselves beyond our comfort zones if we want to succeed.

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  17. Thanks fro bringing this up, as a parent it sometime is hard to let your child do something out of his comfort zone, but I agree that he will achieve greater things and learn more by stepping out of his comfort zone. Thanks for sharing!

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  20. Oh taking risks is an essential in life. It’s important to know that you can grow form taking risks. Great post. Thanks!

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  22. I always believe that coming out from that shell is a nice way to truly know oneself and his capacity. It builds self confidence. Plus one will never know his worth unless he step out and try.

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  25. Stepping outside of our comfort zone is really difficult. But its important for developing personality. I agree with you completely.

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  26. This is great. We as humans are constantly growing so we should be comfortable with being uncomfortable sometimes.

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  27. It is so true that you need to step out of your comfort zone ever once in a while. I have always had such a hard time doing this!

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  28. Yes to this! We try to teach our kids to get out of their comfort zone and try new things. It’s a bit scary for them but it feels great when they accomplish new things.

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  30. Pingback: Your courage matters above all.... - Krishmotivationblogs

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