Everyone loves their comfort zone.

Why? Because that’s the point: you’re comfortable. It’s a wearing-your-favorite-sweatpants, sipping-your-favorite-wine, reading-a-book-by-your-favorite-author kind of feeling (aka, my usual Friday night). Familiar. Safe.

Boring.

Making the most out of life means taking deliberate steps to leave your comfort zone. Is it difficult? A lot of times, sure. Sometimes it’s even pants-shittingly scary. But mostly it has the power to change your life.

Case in point: I’m not a water person. I like going to the beach and boating and all of the ancillary activities surrounding the water, but I’ve never been great shakes at swimming. I had a near-drowning experience as a teenager plus I watched Pinocchio and Jaws waaaay too young and had nightmares for years about murderous whales and sharks and big, scary things in the ocean that wanted to eat me. Consequently, my feelings about swimming in open water amounted to a whole lot of nope.

This uneasiness with deep water stayed with me into adulthood. So when an opportunity arose through work last September to go on a sea-based expedition to the Galapagos Islands, which involved deep-water snorkeling excursions every day, I had to stare those fears in the face and tell them to buzz off.

How could I not fully engage with the marine environment of one of the most unique places on earth? I’d miss out on swimming alongside curious sea lions and endangered Galapagos penguins. Getting up close and personal with tropical fish. Basically, I’d throw away a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

So I did it.

And the darndest thing happened. I loved it.

It turns out the world beneath the waves is just as vibrant and beautiful as the one on dry land. And I never would have experienced it had I stayed in my comfort zone.

I went on every single snorkeling excursion offered on that trip despite my initial fears. Even when the water was 63 degrees and choppy, I dutifully schlepped on my wet suit and fins and braved the conditions so I could witness underwater wonders.

Everything was going swimmingly (pun intended) when, on the last excursion, one of my nightmares came to life.

Yes, I saw a shark.

A white-tipped reef shark swam past me not fifteen feet away from where I floated along the surface. Somehow, I remained calm long enough to snap a couple of quick pictures and watch it disappear into the murk. Then I beat fins back to shore, shaky but exhilarated. And completely in awe that I had shared the same patch of ocean with such a beautiful prehistoric predator. And it didn’t even attempt a nibble.

What did I find through this experience? Courage. If I can face down one of my most deep-seated, visceral fears—including a mother-flipping shark—what else might I accomplish?

Fast-forward to today.

I find myself stepping outside my comfort zone yet again. This time, it has nothing to do with water or travel or sharks. I’m challenging myself with my writing.

Right now I’m working on The Mercenary, the second book in my romantic suspense trilogy. Despite being my second romance novel, this one includes a lot of firsts: a trope I’ve never used before, a setting I haven’t personally visited, and characters whose ethnicities are different from my own.

In essence, there’s a lot about the story that places me firmly outside my own experience, aka my comfort zone. But you know what I say to that?

Bring. It. On.

I’ll inform myself through research. Talk to people to learn more. Find beta readers who can set me straight when I get it wrong.

There might be a few elements about this book that make me gulp, but I’m ready to tackle them head-on. I’ve stepped out of my comfort zone before and I’ve seen how it can change my perceptions and help me achieve success.

You know what they say about comfort zones and where the magic happens…

What will you accomplish outside your comfort zone?

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