10 Simple Ways To Break Out Of Your Comfort Zone

“Free Yourself”

5 x 4″ Original mixed media art on recycled cardboard. SOLD!

We all like our comfort, it’s just so damn comfortable. However, if a more creative and inspired life is what you seek then eventually you will need to break the shell of your cushy egg and poke your head into the areas that may make your tummy turn.

Getting started seeking larger horizons need not be as hard or daunting as you may think. By starting with small and simple weekly goals, you can build up the confidence needed to start taking on bigger and more bad ass challenges.

Trust me I am no crusher in this area and I have made it an all to familiar habit to avoid discomfort and uneasy situations for most of my life. But recently I have started setting small challenges for myself in order to bust a bigger move further down the line.

Some of the things I have started doing may sound simple, but when you have been stuck in a routine for several years just the act of doing something different can be a monumental task.

I still have a long way to go before I am asking strangers for hugs or trying to get freebies at a coffee shop like Niall Doherty, but if I keep taking little steps someday they will be far less daunting than they are now.

Why break out of the marshmallow headspace and what does this have to do with creativity you ask? Well, creatively speaking the safety area is a dead zone for new ideas and an extinguisher of creative sparks.

Inspiration comes not from the daily and mundane routines, but from adding a bit of spice and lively infusions of the unknown into your daily moves.

Sure you could just keep doing the same thing everyday and get damn good at it. But you gotta ask yourself would a challenge or change of awareness give you a new perspective on your interest, hobbies or lifestyle and help build a better understanding of abilities you may not even know you have? I say “uh yeah.”

I think by  taking more risks, moving beyond the rings of your safety circle you will find that new ideas and angles of observation become available. These shifts can be valuable assets and bring to your artistic endeavors a richer, juicier and more meaningful impact.

Start with a few simple things and soon you will have the courage and confidence in your abilities to really start blowing minds and setting off the sky rockets that are your imagination.

Here is my short list of simple yet effective ideas that can set you on your way and help move you out from beneath the warm and fuzzy blankets and into adventure. So embrace, release and then fly with those butterflies in your stomach. If you don’t recall what those butterfly feelings are like, then perhaps you have been living with your head under that pillow for a little to long.

1.) Eat a bug, Ok maybe just hold one. Extra points if you put it on your face.

2.) Make a video of yourself talkin’ about some topic or making art and put it on YouTube. Singing and dancing would be pushing it over the top!

3.) Take a walk and smile at the people you pass and wave at cars going by. I bet this will be harder than you thought it would be.

4.) Pay it forward to a stranger. Buy the person behind you a candy bar, a cup of coffee or whatever is available next time you are in line someplace.

5.) Eat another bug. Just kidding one is plenty

6.) Photograph people you don’t know. Gum drops earned if you introduce yourself and ask for their permission.

7.) Use a new type of art medium and paint or draw something opposite of what you normally would.

8.) Make some art in a public space where others can see what you are doing. make eye contact, smile and ask them what they think of it. If they like it give it to them.

9.) Compliment a stranger on something they are wearing and tell them they look fabulous. Massive win if you say it to a member of the opposite sex.

10.) Leave a comment on a blog post that you like or dislike and tell them why. Heck you can do this one here and now on mine. Have at it you adventurous soul!

What are some of the ways you push yourself past the boundaries of your own self imposed limits?

Are you diggin’ my content? If ya are, Please help support my creative addiction by purchasing some niftiness from my website or my Esty shop. I also have been known to take on commissions for those who want some custom art made in the Chongolian style.