Why you Should Leave Your Comfort Zone
We all know about “comfort zones”, but what do we really know about them?
I think it’s fun to look at definitions, facts and details of commonly known things. With an open mind, you’ll learn aspects that broaden your perspective and understanding. This can lead to actual change + progress.
PositivePsycology.com has a really cool definition of a comfort zone.
They explain that a comfort zone is “a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.”
I love love love this definition. It highlights this idea that we remain “anxiety-neutral” within our comfort zones. This means we stick to what we know and what we’ve always done.
In doing so, we never really get anywhere. We don’t evolve or change or progress. We only get one life – why remain stagnant?
Why Leave Your Comfort Zone?
Pushing past comforts allows one to achieve full potential. This aligns with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the idea of self-actualization. When operating outside of our comfort zone, we’re able to grow and become fulfilled.
Growing is another reason to leave your comfort zone often. When we learn that we can change, expand and take risks, we start to adopt a growth mindset. This kind of mindset leads to an endless amount of benefits that we’ll explore later.
Alongside self-actualization and a growth mindset, stepping out of a comfort zone can lead to resilience. Challenging what you know and proving to yourself that you can accomplish hard things, teaches you that you’re capable.
You learn how strong and skillful you are through doing.
Stages of Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone
Doing things outside of your comfort zone can be scary, stressful and intimidating. You might even experience some resistance. It may take some time for breaking out of your comfort zone to become easy.
The more often you do, the easier it will be to try new things – or at least that’s the goal.
These feelings are necessary as they indicate you’re challenging yourself to grow. It’s said that you move through the following zones in this order: comfort → fear → learning → growth. Let’s look at aspects of each.
In your comfort zone, you will feel safe and in control. When trying to move out of this, you enter the fear zone. Here, you may listen to opinions, have excuses and have little to no confidence.
As you face challenges, gain skills and broaden your horizons, you’re in a learning zone. You’ll reach a growth zone when you: found purpose, live your dreams, have new goals and realize your aspirations. Remember, this takes time.
There is no time frame for reaching a growth zone. Everyone is different. We all process differently and move at different paces.
It might be hard not to compare yourself to others, however, refraining from this will save you from unnecessary negative emotions.
Takeaways
Everything is difficult before it becomes easy.
Moving from what you know can leave you feeling shaky, unsure and nervous. You’ll never know who you can truly be or what you can truly achieve without doing so. Learning about the comfort zone coupled with action is a sure way to grow.
Keep an eye out for next week’s mentality post! It’ll cover tips and actions you can take to put all of this to good use. Until then, start brainstorming ways you can leave your comfort zone.