Lately I’ve been trying to introduce myself to small ways of practicing getting outside of my comfort zone. Trying things that feel awkward or strange, but learning how to do it anyway. Learning how to feel comfortable while doing it. 

So today I give you a giant list of exercises and ways to get outside of your comfort zone, get weird, and embrace some of that craziness inside of you.

If you’re someone who struggles with fear, self consciousness, and dealing with the opinions of others, this is for you. This will help you desensitize yourself to their opinions and feel comfortable in your own skin. 

All of these are safe for you and others. You will not get hurt trying any of these. There is nothing violent or aggressive. This is about getting outside of your comfort zone in healthy ways. 

Some are more difficult or extreme than others, and these are not listed in any particular order. I merely freestyled this as I went. Feel free to create your own along the way.

Here we go 🙂

  1. Public speaking
  2. Stand up Comedy
  3. Live improv
  4. Freestyle rap
  5. Lead a group workshop/teach a class
  6. Approach someone you are attracted to
  7. Approach a stranger and strike up a conversation with them
  8. Approach a stranger and ask them to play rock paper scissor
  9. Approach a stranger and ask them to freestyle rap battle you
  10. Approach a stranger and ask them to dance with you
  11. Dance in public all alone
  12. Dance while walking down the street
  13. Sing in public
  14. Approach a stranger and ask them to sing with you
  15. Dance and sing at the same time in public!
  16. Make weird noises
  17. Make weird voices and create characters
  18. Pretend to be a baby/child
  19. Get weird at the snap of a finger
  20. Yell as loud as you can
  21. Make loud strange noises in a crowded public place
  22. Lie in the middle of the floor in a crowded place
  23. Roll around on the floor
  24. Pretend you’re a fish out of water flopping around on the floor
  25. Try to laugh on command
  26. Try to cry on command
  27. Try to get angry on command
  28. Try to speak to someone in a foreign language
  29. Speak to someone who speaks a language you don’t understand with only hand gestures
  30. Travel somewhere new
  31. Travel somewhere new…alone
  32. Travel somewhere slightly dangerous. Safe but with a certain edginess to it.
  33. Sit alone in silence without moving for an hour
  34. Complete a 10 day Vipassana Meditation retreat
  35. Introduce yourself in a crowded elevator
  36. Sit with a snake and let it slither all around your body
  37. Eat strange foods like bugs or live octopus
  38. Cook something you’ve never tried to cook before
  39. Drink weird beverages like snake blood
  40. Eat/Drink a psychedelic of some kind
  41. Go to a concert/dance festival by yourself
  42. Go out and get shiftfaced by yourself and chat people up all night
  43. Go out by yourself and chat people up all night stone cold sober
  44. Become a street performer and put a hat out to collect money
  45. Spend an hour alone with twenty five 7 year old children
  46. Eat a heavy dosage of a marijuana edible 
  47. Ask to sit first class on your flight without paying for it
  48. Ask for free coffee at Starbucks because you’re a good person
  49. Imagine you are Buddha and treat everyone you meet with as much love and compassion as you can
  50. Make all of your decisions for a day by the roll of a dice
  51. Do something that is outside of your normal sexual comfort zone – this has a wide spectrum so I’ll let you decide
  52. Have someone whip you/inflict pain on you
  53. Hug someone and hold it for 30 seconds
  54. Stare into someones eyes for 1 minute straight
  55. Jump into a mosh pit
  56. Ask all of your closest friends and family members to roast you and insult you
  57. Become an actor/actress – pick a character and do your best to enact it
  58. Do karate in your room and kick and punch like you’re in a video game
  59. Take cold showers/jump into a freezing cold lake
  60. Sit in a sauna for 30 minutes
  61. Run at full speed for as long as you can
  62. Do as many pushups/pullups/situps/squats as you can
  63. Try a new workout you’ve never done before
  64. Get into the boxing ring/octagon and spar with someone
  65. Wake up earlier than you normally do for 90 days straight
  66. Wear strange clothing in public
  67. Wear a sunga/speedo to the beach
  68. Pretend it’s halloween and wear a costume one day
  69. Roll around in the mud/dirt
  70. Get naked in front of someone 
  71. Have an art class paint you while you’re naked
  72. Have someone cover you in body paint 
  73. If you’re a straight man – pretend to be flamboyantly gay. Be as feminine as you can. – If you’re a woman – be as masculine as you can.
  74. If you’re a man – dress as a woman. – If you’re a woman – dress as a man.
  75. Be a stripper with a live audience
  76. Eat nothing but rice and beans for a week
  77. Eat Kimchi
  78. Do intermittent fasting for 18 hours a day
  79. Do an extended fast of 3-5 days (responsibly!)
  80. Extreme sports of any kind
    1. Skydiving
    2. Bungee jumping
    3. Paragliding
    4. Parasailing
    5. Hang Gliding
    6. Rock Climb
    7. Slackline/Highline
    8. Mountain Bike
    9. Skiing/Snowboarding
    10. Waterski
    11. Kite surfing
    12. Repelling
    13. Scuba Diving
  81. Create an overly long list like this to stretch the capacity of your mind. 
  82. Anything that was ever shown on the show Fear Factor
  83. Start a business
  84. Gamble an excessively large amount of money
  85. Learn how to do something you’ve never done before
  86. Try to email and get in contact with your top 10 life heroes.
  87. Go to New Delhi, India
  88. Try the salt-water colon flush
  89. Try Rapé
  90. Post pictures and videos of yourself on social media when you look your worst
  91. Make a video of yourself doing nothing but staring into the camera and breathing
  92. Try Troy-Chi
  93. Say NO to something you normally say yes to, even if that means confrontation
  94. Embrace a confrontation you’ve been avoiding
  95. Think about the most traumatic memory you’ve had in life and try to be grateful for it
  96. Forgive someone who has wronged you
  97. Write a love letter to every member of your friends and family
  98. Share a secret with someone 
  99. Fall in love
  100. Sell everything and travel the world indefinitely 

Enjoy! 🙂

My only humble request – if you try any of these and get it on camera, please tag me on instagram @troyerstling. I want to quietly start a revolution of people looking to get outside of their comfort zone, and if you’ve made it this far in the article, I have faith you have what it takes to embrace these comfort zone challenges for the world to see. 

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