Step Outside Your Comfort Zone to Create Your Best Year Yet

Step outside your comfort zone and flourish! Learn how People, Places, and Things can help you reverse-engineer your best year yet. Start your journey today!

Source: Adobe/Marek/Wasabi PR/Used with Permission

Stepping out of your comfort zone is where transformation begins. Whether you’re navigating the rapids of a river or the complexities of life, embracing calculated risks can lead to flourishing in ways you never imagined.

Risk isn’t about recklessness; it’s about engaging fully with life and creating opportunity for growth. In fact, the only risk in life may be a risk-free life.

Reflecting on my experience as a professional whitewater raft guide and my research in human development inspired me to explore how discomfort can ignite profound personal growth. The idea isn’t new, but applying it with intention can be transformative. Let’s dive into how embracing risk, discomfort, and thoughtful planning can help you reverse-engineer your best year yet.

Why Risk Matters

Calculated risk-taking—confronting fears and stepping into challenges—can redefine how we see ourselves and what we’re capable of. Exposure therapy, for instance, is a psychological technique that gradually desensitizes the brain to fear-inducing objects and situations. Consider Alex Honnold, the climber featured in Free Solo, whose reduced fear response, as shown in functional MRI scans, allows him to achieve extraordinary feats. While most of us don’t have his unique brain wiring, we can condition ourselves to embrace challenges that foster growth.

The Framework for Growth

Step 1: Your Future Vision

Begin with the end in mind. Picture yourself on December 31st, looking back at a year of flourishing. What does success look like? Who are you surrounded by? Where have you been? What tools helped you thrive? Use all your senses to imagine this moment—what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.

Step 2: People—Build Relationships

Here’s how to cultivate meaningful relationships throughout the year:

• Winter: Reconnect with a mentor or friend. Schedule biweekly catch-ups.

• Spring: Attend a seminar.

• Summer: Collaborate with someone who shares your goals.

• Fall: Celebrate progress with those who’ve supported you.

The right people can challenge and inspire you, helping you see opportunities you might otherwise miss.

Step 3: Places—Design Your Environment

Environment is a silent yet powerful force shaping your habits and energy. Dan Buettner, Blue Zones' researcher said, "The secret to longevity, as I see it, has less to do with diet, or even exercise, and more to do with the environment in which a person lives: social and physical." To design your environment:

• Winter: Declutter and create a calming corner at home.

• Spring: Spend time outdoors in places that spark creativity.

• Summer: Travel to a meaningful destination for growth.

• Fall: Host an event in a space that reflects your personal transformation.

Choose spaces that rejuvenate and inspire you, aligning your environment with your aspirations.

Step 4: Things—Use Tools to Thrive

Author Toni Morrison once said, “If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down.” This wisdom applies to both habits and tools, turning ideas into action. Here’s a plan:

• Winter: Start journaling to track progress.

• Spring: Invest in one tool or course to build a skill.

• Summer: Use creative tools to complete a project or milestone.

• Fall: Create a vision board to reflect and inspire the year’s growth.

Intentional use of tools ensures they serve your purpose rather than distract from it.

The Role of Discomfort in Growth

Growth often requires us to push beyond our comfort zones. Michael Easter’s book The Comfort Crisis reminds us that a less stressful and more fulfilling life can be achieved by embracing challenges—whether it’s hiking a mountain or developing a new skill. His rules for navigating discomfort are simple: Make it hard, but don’t risk your life unnecessarily.

Motivation Essential Reads

How to Change: The Hard Way and the Easy Way

Why We're Drawn to "Fresh Starts"

Similarly, the Japanese concept of misogi encourages taking on one transformative challenge a year—something so difficult it reshapes how you approach the rest of your days. What will your misogi be for the year ahead?

Personal Reflections: The Power of Risk

Risk isn’t just about physical challenges; it’s about embracing discomfort in all areas of life. In my late 20s, an impulsive decision to go whitewater rafting after hearing a radio ad changed everything. Terrifying yet exhilarating, it taught me that risk drives growth and shaped my life—where I live, who I spend time with, how I relax, and even how I have healed chronic pain.

This lesson in balance applies far beyond the river. As I often tell my indoor cycling students, heart-rate games teach us to push just enough to grow without burning out. Life works the same way—finding the sweet spot where growth happens.

Flourish Forward

Flourishing isn’t about perfection; it’s about progress. What’s your annual theme? Envision your December 31st moment, work backward, and use the power of people, places, and things to get there. Embrace discomfort, take the leap, and discover your best self.