How to Broaden Your Horizons & Get Out of Your Comfort Zone For Good

Are you feeling a little less than satisfied with your lot? Do you often find yourself feeling bored? Perhaps it’s time to broaden your horizons!

From time to time, it’s completely normal to feel like you’re stuck in a rut. Everything feels a little samey, and nothing excites you anymore. You can either stay in this funk and enjoy a pretty miserable existence, or you can do something about it. Why not broaden your horizons?

When life stays stagnant, nothing changes unless you push it. You’ll never feel excitement, you’ll rarely feel joy, and instead, you’ll just be stuck with the endless feeling of, well, being stuck.

Not, we’re not trying to paint a miserable picture here, we’re simply being honest. If you don’t try to get yourself out of the metaphorical hole you’ve found yourself in, you can’t expect your life to change very much.

[Read: OMG I’m so bored with life – 20 ways to bring the spark back]

What does it mean to broaden your horizons?

If you want to be happy, then sometimes, you have to broaden your horizons by doing things that you wouldn’t typically do. That means opening your mind.

Stop thinking that there is such a thing as black and white with no grey in between.

In this world, there are all different shades of color and you can explore every aspect of them. Who knows, you might find something you really enjoy in there, or you might meet a new person who turns your life on its head for all the right reasons.

There is so much life has to offer, and if you don’t broaden your horizons, you’ll miss out on everything else you don’t know yet.

Many people think that when you try to broaden your horizons, you’re making major, sweeping changes. That’s not necessarily the case. You don’t have to quit your job and go backpacking around the world to try new things.

You can join an evening class, join the gym, and simply get out of the regular routine you’ve found yourself in. When you break out of a routine, you usher new opportunities into your life. [Read: How to overcome FOMO – How to read the signs and overcome the stress it causes]

Why you should broaden your horizons

Broadening your horizons is a metaphor. You are pushing back at the furthest thing you see. You want to see more. There should be no limit on what you expose yourself to. Get all the experiences you can.

Why? Well, boredom, for one. If you do the same thing day after day, you aren’t learning anything new or challenging yourself. To grow as a person, strengthen your relationships, and really enjoy your life, you need to take risks.

Maybe that risk is taking skydiving lessons or it is going away for the weekend. This will be different for everyone, but never stepping outside your routine will lock you into a rut of complacency.

You won’t question anything. You will accept how things are and just be okay. But, don’t you want to be better than okay? You want to be great. Broaden your horizons and see your full potential. [Read: 12 ways to step out of your comfort zone and become more outgoing overnight]

How to broaden your horizons

It is as simple as thinking about how you normally do things and doing the opposite. Or, just saying “yes” to new things rather than automatically assuming that it’s not worth trying them.

There are times in our lives when we can become stuck or feel like we have hit a brick wall. The truth is that the only thing that can ever limit someone is themselves. There are always options; you just have to open your eyes to see them.

Here are some ways to broaden your horizons. [Read: 15 common reasons why you’re getting bored with your relationship]

1. Stop self-limiting

Many times we keep ourselves stuck by believing in false barriers. Whether you believe something from experience or because someone told you the “truth,” self-limiting notions can keep you from living life to the fullest and trying things that you normally wouldn’t.

Self-limiting beliefs are those things that we don’t ever challenge; we just accept them as truth, whether they are or aren’t. Most of the time they’re simply someone else’s belief and they’re not rooted in actual fact. [Read: How to master positive self-talk and banish negativity]

For example, if you believe that you can’t possibly climb a mountain, then guess what? You probably will never climb a mountain. You have limited what you can do with the belief that you can’t.

If you want to broaden your horizons, you have to stop limiting yourself to those things that you have ingrained in your head from society or yourself and believe that you can. It really is that easy. [Read: How to take the next step to success]

2. Push yourself

If you want to broaden your horizons, it isn’t always easy. We do things in a certain way because they are predictable, we know the outcome, so they aren’t scary, and they are easier than taking the road less traveled.

If you want to broaden your horizons, you have to put in the extra effort, push yourself to work harder, and be willing to put the time in and go the extra mile.

Try not to focus on the possibility of failure, but the likelihood of success. The rewards are so much better than just a pat on the back for the same job well done.

Even if you don’t actually achieve what you were aiming towards, you’ll still have new experiences and probably learn new things along the way. It’s really about the journey as much as reaching the destination. [Read: 12 steps to change your life and find your happiness]

3. Go outside of your comfort zone

The reason we don’t do things in life is that they aren’t “comfortable.” That means they make you feel uneasy, or they aren’t within your control. If you want to broaden your horizons, you will have to be okay with not feeling safe, knowing how the ending goes, and instead just throwing caution to the wind. Of course, that doesn’t mean being reckless – you still need to use your common sense!

Those are all things that are adverse to what human beings are programmed for. Because we were made to survive, going outside of what we find comfortable makes us, well, uncomfortable. [Read: How to be more outgoing – 12 ways to step out of the comfort zone]

Again, that doesn’t mean putting yourself in harm’s way or not being safe, but it does mean putting yourself into positions that feel weird or awkward and persevering. It doesn’t mean doing what others want you to do, but what you want to do.

You would be surprised by how quickly a human being can adapt to make uncomfortable things feel comfortable. That is what broadening your horizons is all about. [Read: How to be successful – Everything you ever need to know]

4. Shut your mouth and listen

Most of the time, we are so busy telling everyone how things are that we never stop to listen. If you want to broaden your horizons, it is okay to challenge what someone is saying, but it won’t work if you aren’t willing to listen and challenge your own beliefs.

If you are too busy always trying to convince other people that you are right, you never stop to consider the fact that you might not be.

To broaden your horizons, sometimes you just have to be quiet and let someone else do the talking. You can ask questions later, but shouting them down or refusing to hear their side keeps you stuck. [Read: 25 memorable life lessons to perfect your life]

5. Ask yourself why?

Stop just accepting things and ask yourself why you believe certain things or follow certain people.

If you believe in a particular cause or simply an idea, to broaden your horizons, you might have to step back and ask yourself why you believe what you do, and if it is a fact or just something that you have accepted as such without having any merit behind it. [Read: 15 thought-provoking questions to leave you curious and wondering]

The moment you stop asking yourself why and challenging your belief system is the moment that you stop growing as a human being.

Having blind faith is not a strength. It is naive. To constantly broaden your horizons, you have to stop yourself when you have something you take as fact and question whether it is or not. That doesn’t mean not believing the things you want to, it means challenging the things that are ingrained without a real reason. [Read: 19 life quotes to motivate you to live a better life]

6. Do the opposite

If you want to broaden your horizons, it might be as simple as doing the exact opposite of what you would normally do or think. When you see an exchange between two people, take the devil’s advocate position and go with it.

If you would normally go right, go left. You would be surprised at all the life experiences you can have and how much you are missing if you just do the opposite of what comes naturally.

For just once, be the “anti-you,” and you will open yourself up to another whole world.

If you normally say “no” to new opportunities or an invite to go out someplace new, start saying “yes” instead. You never know, you might actually enjoy yourself! [Read: How to become more spontaneous in life and explore everything it can offer you]

7. Try walking in someone else’s shoes

If you want to broaden your horizons, it takes the ability to look around, like really look around, and see what you have and what others don’t. Tap into your empathy and really explore it.

Often, we are so concerned with convincing people that we earn what we have or deserve it, that we don’t stop to see that others are just as deserving. This limits the life we live and the way that we conduct ourselves.

If you want to broaden your horizons, it is all about living a day in someone else’s shoes, which is more difficult than you think. Take your blinders off, go for a ride on the other side of town, or volunteer at a hospital. You would be surprised at how privileged you actually are when you see those who aren’t. [Read: How to develop empathy and master the art of growing a real heart]

Having a closed mind doesn’t allow you to experience all the miracles and wonderful things around you. Only seeing things in black and white takes all the color out of the world. If you want to broaden your horizons, it will take some stepping out of your comfort zone, listening, and empathy on your part. [Read: 7 reasons why empathy is so important]

8. Take a deep breath

Sometimes broadening your horizons just takes a simple breath. Stop for a moment and don’t think. Overthinking is what holds us back. Just breathe out all the hesitancies and doubts. Inhale confidence and possibilities.

We’re all so quick to think about the past and jump to the future, making endless plans that we don’t even know how to put into action.

By doing that, you’re not living in the present. You’re missing all the wonderful things around you right now because you’re so distracted by everything else going on. Slow down and take a breath, you’ll be amazed at how much you notice. [Read: How to live in the moment – 20 positive ways to live in the now]

9. Ask yourself if you’re happy

Broadening your horizons is an important part of growing throughout life. But it doesn’t have to be glamorous or adventurous. If you are happy trying a new restaurant, that is great. If you love flying to an unknown location last minute, that’s awesome.

Ask yourself what would make you happy. If you are happy in your current life. Great. But, could you be happier? Are you blissfully unaware of how unhappy you are? If so, change things. [Read: Why am I so unhappy? 8 small changes that’ll change your life forever]

10. Say yes

Again, this one is important. Say “yes” more often. It is easy to say “no.” It is easy to stay home and watch Netflix. Go out with friends. You never know who you might meet. Your future boss? Your soul mate? Or you could just pass by someone that makes you smile.

Stop saying “no,” and broaden your horizons by saying “yes.” It’s a simple thing that works wonders!

[Read: How to love yourself – 15 ways to discover self-love and happiness]

The rewards of broadening your horizons are like taking a breath of fresh air. It allows you to see all the things you have and be grateful for them. Stop limiting your mind and set it free to imagine the unimaginable and live life to its fullest.

The post How to Broaden Your Horizons & Get Out of Your Comfort Zone For Good is the original content of LovePanky - Your Guide to Better Love and Relationships.