Essay Sample on Finding Comfort Outside My Comfort Zone: A Journey to Self-Discovery

Recently, I have realised that it is during the times I am far outside my element that I experience myself the most. From a young age up until a few months ago, I have felt stagnant in, life. Fundamentally, I felt that I had not experienced any growth in my life. While it was comfortable, I was not happy. My life was full of fear, pressure and awkwardness. It's a place called the comfort zone.

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For the longest time in my life, I always found an excuse to do anything uncomfortable regardless of how beneficial it could be. For instances, In march,2016, we were assigned a task to present a project to over 50 people. This task was scary for me. Every time I thought about it, I felt an upsurge of dread and fear in me. All I could think of was how to avoid doing it. Eventually, I found a way to avoid doing the project; I accompanied my father to the desert on the D-day. We stayed in the desert for a week. Unfortunately, this ended up being the worst time of my life. In a bid to avoid a simple task, I ended up stuck in a more dreadful situation.

Once during a math lesson, I had not fully understood the concepts that the teacher has taught. Before leaving, the teacher asked if everyone had understood the topic. I nodded along with everyone else despite being a little confused. Ultimately, I ended up scoring only 50% in the math quiz. I realised that had I presented my case to the teacher, I would have scored a higher grade. I was just afraid that someone would laugh at me for asking such a question. This experience reminded me of the adage that, "Rarely do we regret the action, its inaction that we regret most" Had I taken action, I would have achieved a grade that I was happy about.

My fear of stepping out of my comfort zone has put me in frustrating situations more than once. Deep down, I have always known that I am capable of conquering it and achieving better in all areas of my life. Nonetheless, I was scared, distracted and always willing to take the easy way out. Unfortunately, this demeanour has denied me so much in life.

In a bid to conquer my insecurities, I applied for the Global Leaders Academy in UPENN to develop leadership skills. Before taking up this challenge, I promised myself that I would not give up. I vowed that I would push against all the odds to conquer my fear finally. At the academy, I worked as hard I could by interacting with new people and pushing myself to achieve more than I had ever accomplished in my life. During that trip, I have presented to over 50 people and made friends from all over the world. I further enhanced my learning process by asking various questions about leadership. At the end of that trip, I had faced all my fears. Furthermore, I had learnt so much more than I expected. As I headed back home, I felt alive and ready to take on the next challenge that life brings along.

Since then, I believe that I have lived my best life. I have become more socially active, made new friends. Moreover, I am no longer afraid to speak my mind. I always present my case with no fear. In this regard, I feel that conquering my anxiety is one of my greatest achievement in life as it has helped step out of my comfort zone. It has also made a better and productive person.