5 Great Ways to Broaden Your Horizons (with Examples)

2. Take a new class · 3. Engage with people with different opinions · 4. Do something that scares you · 5. Read a new book. Skiptocontent Menu GetOurFREEMentalSelf-CareCheatSheet GetOurFREEMentalSelf-CareCheatSheet 10evidence-basedtipstoimproveyourmentalhealthinstantaneouslywhenyouneedtotakecareofyourself! DownloadTheFREECheatSheet Youarehere: Home»HowToBeHappy»HappinessTips 5GreatWaystoBroadenYourHorizons(withExamples) ByAshley PublishedonFebruary17,2022 IwasonceinanadventurouspositionwhereIhadtobroadenmyhorizons.IstoodthereinthemiddleofbustlingIstanbul,TurkeywithoutknowingalickofTurkishandnotknowingasinglesoul,butatthatmoment,Ihaveneverfeltmorealive. ThroughoutmywholetripinTurkey,IdancedbetweenfeelinglikeImightpeemypantsoutoffearandfeelinglikeIhadabuzzthatnobeverageevercouldgiveme.BroadeningmyhorizonsduringthistripgavemeinvaluablememoriesthatcontinuetoshapewhoIamandhowIacttothisday. Iwon’tdenythatleavingyourcomfortzonetogrowandexperiencesomethingnewisscary,butwhatliesbeyondthefearisgrowthandasenseofvitalitythatcan’tbefoundanywhereelse.Seekingnewperspectivesonlifeiswhatkeepsthingsfreshandhelpsyouavoidfallingintoamindsetwherelifeisonlycomposedofmundaneeventsonrepeat. Inthisarticle,Iwillhelpyouditchyourcomfortzoneandexposeyourselftoaworldfulloffreshinsighttohelpyoufeelfullyalive. ContentsWhyweneedtogrowWhathappensifyouliveinyourcomfortzone5waystoBroadenYourHorizons1.Travelmore2.Takeanewclass3.Engagewithpeoplewithdifferentopinions4.Dosomethingthatscaresyou5.ReadanewbookWrappingup Whyweneedtogrow Itcanbeappealingtodoandexperiencethesamethingsdayinanddayout.Asahumanmyself,Icangetonboardwiththecomfortthatcomesfromasenseofcertaintyandpredictability.Thismechanismalsocausesourfearofstartingsomethingnew. Butatsomepoint,youwillstarttodrowninthemonotonyandfeelasthoughlifeisachore.Andifyoucontinuetoliveinthisheadspaceyoucanstarttospiraldownapathofnegativityanddespair. Thisiswhyhavingagrowthmindsetandpushingyourselftopopyourownlittlebubbleiscritical.  Ifavoidingthedoomandgloommentalitydoesn’tmotivateyoutobroadenyourhorizons,thenlistentotheresearchthatshowsthemanybenefitsthatstemfromburstingyourownbubble.  Astudyin2015foundthatwhenyouseekself-expansionyouwillexperiencemorequalityinteractionsanddevelopmoremeaningfulinterpersonalrelationships.Notonlywillyourinteractionswithothersimprove,butthestudyalsofoundthatyourconfidencewillincreaseasaresultofexpandingyourhorizons. Withoutcomeslikebetterrelationshipsandasenseofconfidence,it’shardtojustifystayinginyourcomfortzone. Whathappensifyouliveinyourcomfortzone Youaremorethanwelcometocontinuetobeahomebodyinyourcomfortzone.Butyoumayfindthatstayinginyourcomfortzoneisriskierthangettingoutofit. Researchshowsthatifyouwanttoimproveyourcriticalthinkingskillsyouneedtobeexposedtodiverseexperiencesinyourlife.Withoutthisexposure,it’seasytothinkthesamethoughtsandneverquestionwhetherthesethoughtsareaccurate. Notonlywillyoumissoutontheopportunitytosharpenyourthinkingskills,butyoumayalsolackasenseoflifesatisfactionifyoustayputinthesameenvironmentdayinanddayout.Studieshavefoundthatexposingyourselftonewenvironmentssignificantlyenhancedlifesatisfactionrelativetothosewhoneverchangedtheirsurroundings. Ihaveyettomeetahumanwhotellsmethatstayingexactlythesamefortherestoftheirlifesoundslikeablast.Imeanwhowantstobethinkingandlivingthesamewaytheydidwhentheywerefreshmenincollege?Notme! Yet,whenwechoosetonotbroadenourhorizons,we’rebasicallycommunicatingthatwedon’twanttochange.It’stimetogrowandditchyourcomfortzonesothatyoucanleavebehindlimitingmindsetsandexperiencetheworldonawholenewlevel. 5waystoBroadenYourHorizons Ifyou’rereallyreadytoburstyourbubbleandseeallthatthisworldhastoofferyou,thenfollowthese5tipstostartyourjourneyofself-expansion.    1.Travelmore Thereisnothingquitelikeradicallychangingyoursurroundingsthroughtravelingtoopenupyoureyes. Whetheritbetravelinginyourowncountryortoaforeignlandathousandmilesaway,travelingliterallyforcesyoutotakeonanewperspectiveandadapttoadifferentwayoflife. IlivedwithahostmotherinasmalltownintheDominicanRepublicwhilestudyingabroad.Andthisexperiencecompletelyturnedmyworldupsidedown. Inthislittletown,Ilearnedtohavealove-haterelationshipwithcoldshowersanddiscoveredhowmorethaneightpeoplecanfitintoacardesignedforfourwhentakingaconchoonthemorningcommute. Butmoreimportantly,Inoticedthattheprioritywastoenjoylifeandspendtimedoingwhatmakesyouhappy.Itwassuchashake-upfromthehustleandgrindculturethatweembracehereinAmerica. ItrytoremindmyselfofthoseexperiencesbecauseithelpsmerememberthatIcanbringbackthatlifestyleandmentalitytomylifehereinthestates. 2.Takeanewclass Youdon’thavetogoabroadtoexposeyourselftonewwaysofthinkingorexperiences.Signinguptotakeaclassisaneasilyaccessiblewaytobroadenyourhorizons. Iwouldpersonallyrecommendtakingaclassyoumightneverchoosetotakeregularlyifyoureallywanttopushyourlimits. Afewyearsago,Idecidedtotakeanartclass.Assomeonewhodefaultstothemostbasicstickfiguresatjustthementionofthewordart,Ihadlowexpectationsformyself. Butbytakingthisclass,IlearnedthatIactuallydohaveacreativesideandIinteractedwithpeoplewhoIwouldn’tnormallyencounterinmygeneralsocialcirclefullofsciencenerds. 3.Engagewithpeoplewithdifferentopinions Thisoneistricky.IpersonallyamexcellentatsurroundingmyselfwithpeoplewhothinksimilartothewayIdo. Butthathasbeenmyproblem.Youwillneverchallengeyourownopinionsoryourviewonanissueifyoudon’topenyourselfuptodiscussionswithpeoplewhohaveadifferentopinionthanyours. Afewyearsago,IdecidedtogotoapoliticalmeetingofapartythatIamnotamemberof.NowI’mnotgoingtosay,“Wow-Itotallyagreedwiththeirthoughtsandviewpoints.” ButwhatIcansayisgoingtothismeetinghelpedmetohavemeaningfulconversationswithotherswhothinkdifferentlythanme.Andbydoingso,Istartedtounderstandwhythesepeoplebelievewhattheybelieveandatleastshedasmidgeofmybias. Needlesstosay,thispointisstillaworkinprogressforme. 4.Dosomethingthatscaresyou We’rejusthittingallthesensitivespotsinthisarticle,aren’twe?First,youhavetointeractwithpeoplewhoyoudisagreewithandnowyouhavetodosomethingthatscaresyou. Butifyouwanttopursueself-expansion,facingfearisanexcellentoptionfordoingso. Beforeenteringcollege,IhadoneseriousboyfriendandwebrokeuprightbeforeIleftforcollege.IwasterrifiedtostartdatingagainbecauseIfeltlikeIdidn’tevenknowhowtodate. Thankstosomepushyfriends,Iwentonseveraldates.AndwhileIwasliterallysweatingbulletsduringthehoursleadinguptothedates,Ialwayslefteachdateunderstandingabitmoreaboutmyselfandotherpeople. Andwithalotofpractice,Iveryslowlybegantoactuallyenjoygoingondates. It’snotalwaysfuntodothethingthatscaresyou,butthehorizonyougettoexperienceasaresultissoworthit. 5.Readanewbook Gettinglostinabookisanincrediblewaytoexplorenewperspectives. Therearebookswrittenaboutalmostanythingyoucanimagine.Ifyouwanttolearnmoreaboutacertaincultureorfigureouthowtobuildarocket,Ibetyoucanfindabookaboutitatyourlocallibrary. Howbettertobroadenyourhorizonthantoreadthewordsofsomeoneelsewhohasexperienceinthatarea? Andifyoureallywantsomebrowniepoints,considerreadingmaterialyouwouldusuallyskipover.Becausesometimesinthatgenreyouavoid,youfindinsightthatshiftsthewayyouviewtheworld. GetOurFREEMentalSelf-CareCheatSheet 10evidence-basedtipstoimproveyourmentalhealthinstantaneouslywhenyouneedtotakecareofyourself! DownloadTheFREECheatSheet Wrappingup Youdon’tnecessarilyhavetopackyourbagsandflyfarawaytobroadenyourhorizons.Butyoudohavetoactivelychoosethepathofself-expansionifyouwanttoexperienceallthatlifehastooffer.AndIcanpromiseyou,youwillneverregretopeningyoureyestoafreshperspectivebecausethatisrightwhereyouwillfindlife’smagic. Haveyoubroadenedyourhorizonslately?Whattipwouldyouliketosharewithourreaders?I'dlovetohearfromyouinthecommentsbelow! AshleyKaiser Writer Physicaltherapist,writer,andoutdoorenthusiastfromArizona.Self-proclaimeddarkchocolateaddictandfull-timeadrenalinejunkie.Obsessedwithmydoganddependingonthedaymyhusband,too. LeaveaCommentCancelreplyCommentName Email Website Δ Latestarticles 5WaystoShowRespecttoOthers(andWhyYouShould!) 21ThingstobeThankfulForToday(WithExamples!)5WaystoStopMakingExcuses(andGetRealWithYourself) TrackingHappinesshelpsyouunderstand100%ofyourhappinessandgetincontrol. HowToBeHappyWhatIsHappinessInternalHappinessPurposeInLifeJournalingForHappinessSocialHappinessHappinessTipsCaseStudiesandSurveys AboutAboutTrackingHappinessMethodPrivacyPolicySearchTheArchives HowToBeHappy Whatishappiness Internalhappiness Purposeinlife Journalingforhappiness Socialhappiness Happinesstips Casestudies,surveysandresearch About Instagram Close