For myself personally, I realized that this is very difficult, but simply vital. Getting out of your comfort zone helps you change your life better side. This is the same ugly frog that needs to be “eaten” first, and only then take on all the other things that were written down in the diary. It’s not for nothing that all successful world speakers unanimously repeat that leaving your comfort zone is the only way to develop. This is where miracles happen.
Us and uncertainty
Undoubtedly, there is nothing terrifying in the routine tasks that we perform every day: we know what to expect from one or another of our actions, what the result will be. But when we don’t know what to expect, when we are overwhelmed by uncertainty, you must admit that the cats begin to scratch our souls.
A striking example of this: you decided to change your job and tomorrow you need to join new team. Is it true that this thought slightly spoils the mood, making it more anxious? What can we say, but the human psyche is tripled in such a way that everything that we attribute to the unknown will force us to be on our guard.
In psychology, this is explained by the fact that:
A person considers safe only those situations that have long been familiar to him.
That is why many still do not dare to try something new, to radically change their lifestyle, habits that, perhaps, could lead them to success.
Go beyond your comfort zone - yes or no?
To be or not to be? To go out or stay in our usual surroundings is an eternal dilemma for many. For a long time I couldn't figure out if life really begins where the comfort zone ends.
After all, I seemed to be satisfied with my previous life, but as soon as I started doing things that were not typical for me, visited new places, met new people, I realized how I was changing, how every day my self-esteem was changing for the better, I understood that personally growing, moving forward.
Of course, at first all these changes brought with them a small amount of stress, but it is not capable of harm if it is present in life in small quantities. Otherwise, excessive stress can bring with it a state of panic.
Expanding your comfort zone and self-development
What does it mean: without leaving your comfort zone there is no self-development? As it turned out, personal growth is led not only by a positive attitude, determination and confidence in own strength, but also a little worry.
After all, even the slightest inconvenience and discomfort can push a person. For example, to cope better with one’s responsibilities or to improve the quality of performing a particular job. Thus, we unconsciously improve our skills, engage in self-development, move forward and do not stand still.
Is this really necessary?
Surely in the lives of each of us there are such acquaintances who have long been absorbed in the cycle of life called “home-work-home-work”. It is possible that the habits, daily routine, and even the actions of such people can be easily predicted. And as for them family relations, then they turned into a continuous routine, where former feelings were long lost.
I am in no way trying to condemn them, but something tells me that they are behaving a little incorrectly. And the mistake of such people is that they are stuck headlong in a comfort zone from which they don’t even think of looking for a way out. They are satisfied that the days have turned into something unified, and relationships with loved ones have become some kind of obligation. And this once again proves why you need to look for a path to your own development and, therefore, cross the boundaries of your personal comfort zone.
After all, it is possible that such people previously sought to learn something new, developed, expanded their range of interests, and strived to become a professional in their field. They clearly tried their best to change the landscape before their eyes as often as possible, and therefore, at the first opportunity, they went out of town, organized picnics, trips with friends to a neighboring city, and simply got to know their city using previously unexplored routes.
But, as soon as they got into the comfort zone, every year its abyss sucked them in more and more. As a result, we get a reluctance to move forward, to do anything in order to change our life, to bring something new into it. Unfortunately, few people now understand that the comfort zone is good for the time being, but this does not take away from its true essence. She is a psychological trap that many fall into.
The right way out of your comfort zone
The realization that something needs to be changed in life is already a small victory. Now we need not only to reason and philosophize, but also to take action and translate our plans into reality. I would like to general outline mention the rules for leaving your comfort zone, and in my next article you will learn in detail about the main methods of leaving it.
So, rule #1 says: change must begin right now, this minute, or even this second. You should never put off your business until later. There will never be an ideal day of the week, month, or time of year to accomplish your plans. This ideal must begin with our inner world. Remember that the ideal place and time for change is here and now, so get started!
Rule #2 concerns the daily routine. Even the brilliant John Kehoe once wrote: “If you want variety and get rid of the ordinary. Just rearrange what you do every day, reconsider your daily routine.” This is what you have to do. Of course, such changes, even small ones, will cause a feeling of discomfort, but this a clear sign that you are leaving your comfort zone. Bring something new and most importantly useful into your day. So, it could be a short morning run or reading a book on personal development before bed.
Rule #3 refers to appearance. It sounds, of course, a little implausible, but in fact, having changed your appearance By changing our image, we are already taking the first steps towards leaving our comfort zone and on the path to self-development.
Rule #4 prompts you to change your usual environment. If it’s still difficult for you to change your hated job, then it’s time to change your vacation spot. TV - no the best one alternative. So, you can go to the cinema, but even better - organize a walking tour around your favorite city. It's time to remember a hobby that has long been abandoned and sign up for courses.
Conclusion
That's all. Thank you for being with me. You will find many more on my blog interesting articles that promote personal development. And by subscribing to its updates, you will never miss the latest information. See you again and don’t forget to step out of your comfort zone more often!
In fact, human development without the so-called “magic kick” is almost impossible. To start changes in life you need an incentive! Because in a comfortable state, where the life scenario is known in advance and every day is similar to the previous one, the desire to change something does not arise by itself. In such a state, the need to set goals, achieve them and develop is lost, and this is nothing more than the beginning of degradation.
Interesting feature is that the desire to leave the comfort zone most often arises among those people who, in essence, have not been there.
For example, perhaps the most common desire of people nowadays is to take care of their own health and force themselves to start running in the morning. (This is a way out of the comfort zone.) But if you “dig deeper” and look for the reason why it is almost impossible to set aside time for exercise in the morning, it turns out that a person simply does not have what it takes to do this free time! And this is not because you want to surf the Internet in the morning while having breakfast or for some other reason. The fact is that a person simply does not sleep daily norm, or sleeps exactly as much as the body needs to recuperate. And it would be worthwhile, on the contrary, to enter the comfort zone, and not leave it. Because you can always get out of it...
There is another reason - the misunderstanding and use of the expression “comfort zone”. If a person is not suitable for a job personal reasons(for example, low wage, far from home, inconvenient schedule, difficult team, etc.) and he wants to change it, but does not take any action, then this is not a way out of the comfort zone (what kind of comfort is this under such working conditions), but perhaps reluctance act and look for another job for whatever reason.
Being in your comfort zone is really necessary so that you can grow and improve.
Just as a car engine cannot operate without fuel, human development is absolutely impossible until there is the necessary supply of energy. There can't even be any talk about personal growth or training. leadership qualities, if a person has not satisfied his needs for food, sleep, health, safety, communication.
A very clear example of the importance of staying in your comfort zone can be seen at all kinds of festivals. In most cases, master classes are held at such events various topics and directions. But, as soon as people arrive at the festival, the first thing people do is set up camp and prepare the place where they will come to rest and spend the night.
Each person will have different needs for comfort, depending on many factors. But referring to Maslow and his pyramid, the primary needs are: food, sleep, water, etc. When these needs are satisfied (a person eats normally, sleeps enough, etc.) new level needs: security, stability, confidence in the future, and primary needs have already been satisfied. Further, when a person feels safe, he directs his attention to developing the level of friendship and love. When there are friends and love in the family, a person has a new horizon for realization and growth - respect among others, self-esteem, recognition. And only after all this there is a need for the realization and development of abilities.
Returning to the concept of the “comfort zone,” the question now arises: when should we leave it, and should we? When a person has replenished his resources, has sufficient energy and strength, and has achieved the maximum at this level, then this comfort zone in which he was, as it were, becomes overfulfilled. And there is a desire to go beyond this zone and move to a new level of development, leaving the old one. This is a process that occurs on its own, and there is no reason to speed it up (only in exceptional cases).
Most people living on earth have one thing in common - they live in their comfort zone, which they do not want to leave. At the same time, the majority successful people united by the opposite quality - they force themselves to leave it every day. The question arises: what is a comfort zone and how is it dangerous for a person’s development and self-realization?
What is a comfort zone
The term “comfort zone” is known to almost every person today. However, despite the somewhat positive nature of the name, psychologists consider this phenomenon dangerous for a person’s self-development and self-improvement. A comfort zone is an area of people’s living space that gives them a feeling of security, safety and maximum comfort. We can say that this is their daily world - familiar actions, familiar activities, familiar surroundings. This is the world of a specific person, in which everything is familiar to him, everything is stable and everything is predictable. However, the comfort zone is not the same perfect condition and the conditions he dreams of for himself.
The danger of the comfort zone
The comfort zone is considered dangerous because a person stops there and does not strive to achieve something more, because he is afraid to take risks or does not want to deprive himself of his existing state of calm and habit. It would seem, how could this be bad besides the lack of self-development? Psychologists point out that staying in the comfort zone for too long leads to the fading of the human personality, the emergence and loss of meaning in life.
Comfort-discomfort-panic zones of an entrepreneur (left) and his typical subordinate (right). Why you need to get out of your comfort zone
Why is it still worth leaving your comfort zone?
Firstly, being in the comfort zone for a long time makes a person soft: he relaxes and lives “automatically”. This state turns out to be negative impact on the brain. The lack of need to solve new complex problems leads to the loss of clarity of thinking, the level of learning decreases, and the mechanism responsible for making decisions degrades.
Secondly, a person begins to give up his life goals. Almost every person has some kind of cherished dream deep down in their soul. For the most part, they are feasible. However, there are always some obstacles on the way to achieving them. Overcoming these obstacles is only possible if the necessary efforts are made. Staying in the comfort zone for a long time relaxes a person, and he puts off his goal for later. As time goes by this goal becomes less and less achievable, as it becomes increasingly difficult for a person to force himself to start working to realize his dream. In other words, he begins to be content with what he has.
Thirdly, a person may never know his true self. Psychologists believe that a person’s true abilities are revealed only in difficult conditions, with the maximum strain of his strength. A comfort zone is practically the antonym of difficulty, since it implies a person’s habitual life, to maintain which he can live “automatically.” Accordingly, without getting out of it, he risks never understanding what he is really capable of and how talented he is.
Exercises for leaving your comfort zone
Psychologists offer a number of different exercises aimed at combating the fear of new things and making it easier to get out of your comfort zone. Some of them:
1. Breaking daily habits: you can choose a new route to work or school, a different store for daily shopping, change your usual assortment of products, etc.
2. New acquaintances. This is one of the most common fears and at the same time one of the most effective way leaving your comfort zone. It doesn’t matter where, when and with whom you meet. The very fact of meeting a new person is important.
3. Sign up for new courses, trainings, clubs. Almost every person at least once in his life had a desire to learn something new, which he refused due to fear of the unknown and inconvenience. At the same time, going and signing up is a wonderful exercise for getting out of your comfort zone.
4. Choosing an unusual genre of music, cinema, film.
5. Unplanned trips.
6. Choosing an unusual place for a walk or meeting with friends. For example, you can go to an unfamiliar restaurant, and not to your favorite familiar place.
7. Changing the style of clothing: choosing not comfortable, but unusual clothes, other colors is also one of the effective exercises.
8. Rearranging furniture, etc.
Thus, the comfort zone is a dangerous phenomenon for a person’s personal growth, beyond which the development zone begins. Coming out of it contributes to a person’s self-improvement and makes life more eventful and interesting. So go ahead and don’t put off your dreams for later! ;)
Habitual, day after day, repeated actions that bring habitual, repeating results over and over again. This is the average lifestyle of the average person. If everything is good, why want more, because good is not sought from good. Why then does the question arise, how to get out of your comfort zone and start taking action?
The so-called comfort zone is not just a set of behavioral habits, it is also a set of habitual thinking strategies, ideas and beliefs. And there is nothing bad (or good) in it until, due to life circumstances, a person finds himself in an unusual, stressful situation. And that’s when the skill of leaving your comfort zone becomes extremely relevant.
Why leave your comfort zone
A successful person, it would seem, has no need to overcome himself and his stereotypes of thinking and behavior. However, most successful individuals are excellent at leaving their comfort zone, which, by the way, is the most important component of their success.
The modern world is very mobile, everything changes in it at an increasing speed. Therefore, flexibility, the ability to navigate, adapt and act effectively in new unfamiliar conditions is a necessary skill that is useful for everyone to develop.
The comfort zone is a kind of swamp, warm, cozy, familiar. But completely unchanged. In this state, a person loses not the ability, but the desire to change, to move on, forward. Of course, it is everyone’s personal choice how they live their lives. But changes are sometimes dictated by external conditions, and not always mild ones.
Anyone can lose their job, health, wealth, loved one, no one knows what life has in store for him around the next corner. It is impossible to prepare for such changes in advance, but to cope with them, you need to be ready to change and change your life. This is what stepping out of your comfort zone teaches you.
What you need to get started
Besides external factors, sometimes throwing a person out of his comfort zone in a “forced” way, there are also intrinsic motivation desire to constantly expand one's own boundaries. This is the desire for more. In order to achieve different results in any area, be it career, finances, personal relationships, spiritual practices, actions other than usual are required.
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Of course, such a life strategy requires constant effort on oneself. Whether you want a closer and deeper relationship with your man, or after three years increase your income fivefold, achieving both results will require monotonous and regular, daily work.
For the most part, we want to lose weight by continuing to eat everything in any quantity. We are waiting for the magical pike from the fairy tale “At the Pike’s Command,” which itself will swim to our desktop, on which another scarf is laid out, and will open us a million-dollar account.
The idea of constantly working on yourself - in your career, in relationships with loved ones - causes such despondency and melancholy that you don’t particularly want to act and leave your comfort zone. And so, in general, everything is not bad. Therefore, the majority waits for an external push and learns to live outside of it under forced circumstances.
Ask yourself if you are fully realizing. The question is not even what you have already achieved, the question is what you are basically capable of. Psychologists say that if everything works out, then it’s time to increase the complexity of the tasks.
Ultimately, the new, the unknown, the unusual should become a permanent element of your life. This is the key to prolonging youth, maintaining interest in what is happening around, the basis of the ability to feel a taste for life until old age. Look at traveling pensioners - they are open to learning about the world, its diversity and versatility.
Finally
Leave your comfort zone and embark on the dangerous voyage of life big water- is not an easy task, requiring a great desire to change and change, as well as significant resources of vitality. If the routine of everyday life bogs you down, you lose interest in what is happening in your life - it’s time to turn the boat around and try to swim against the current. Moreover, you can always turn back.
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You've probably heard more than once that you need to leave your comfort zone more often, because this is extremely useful for development. But what is a comfort zone and what do we really know about it, other than the following fact:
Caption: On the right is your comfort zone, and on the left is where miracles happen
So, what is a person's comfort zone and why should we leave it?
In science, the “comfort zone” is defined through the concept of anxiety, namely: “The comfort zone is a type of behavior in which anxiety is kept at a consistently low level.” Imagine cooking dinner, driving to work, or watching TV: these everyday activities do not cause you anxiety or awkwardness, you do them automatically, they constitute your comfort zone. This is what a comfort zone means in psychology.
Sometimes when people talk about getting out of your comfort zone they mean “try something new,” but in general it refers to any situation in which you feel insecure or nervous. So, if on the way to work you get stuck in a traffic jam or you don’t like that the train is crowded with people, then these familiar situations cease to be neutral for you, and you experience discomfort. In this case, why leave your comfort zone and what's good about it?
While we all crave pleasurable sensations, a certain level of discomfort can be surprisingly beneficial. Even the smallest inconvenience can push us to finish the job faster or improve the quality of its completion.
A study conducted in 1908 showed that mice faced with very simple tasks, increased their productivity only when their anxiety levels increased. When the task turned out to be difficult, the anxiety state helped only up to a certain level - when a certain threshold was reached, the combination of difficulty and anxiety led to a drop in performance.
The figure above shows that outside the comfort zone there is a growth zone, however, when moving significantly away from it, excessive anxiety appears, which can lead to a state of panic. This illustration clearly explains the results of the mouse experiment. It’s worth thinking about how to get out of your comfort zone with benefit.
How we behave in conditions of uncertainty
Uncertainty is often the cause of discomfort. You have peace of mind when cooking dinner or driving a car, but only if you do it every day and know what to expect. However, if you decide to try a new recipe, get behind the wheel for the first time, or maybe you are getting a new job or want to jump from a parachute, you are guaranteed to be alarmed.
Uncertainty can also make you react more strongly to negative experiences. Research has shown that when negative images were preceded by uncertainty, they produced a stronger negative effect than when participants were prepared and knew what to expect.
For the same reason, people tend to react negatively to any changes, even if in the end they themselves come to them. What happens if you step too far out of your comfort zone? American researcher Brené Brown believes that uncertain social, political or economic conditions significantly narrow our comfort zone: the more scared we are, the less confident we are in ourselves and the future, and the more difficult it is to get rid of this condition.
Thus, for the human psyche, striving for familiar and familiar things, any unknown is a reason to be wary. From an evolutionary perspective, this behavior is explained by viewing familiar situations as safer: “Hey, we tried this and didn't die. Probably if we try the same thing again, nothing bad will happen.”
Therefore, thinking about the unknown takes a lot of energy, and in case of fatigue or loss of strength, we would rather follow the usual path than try something new.
Going beyond
So, how to leave your comfort zone and is it worth it? Is this really good for you? Scientists say yes, but up to certain limits. Just like the mice in the experiment, do not expose yourself to unnecessary stress so as not to fall into a state of panic.
Let's look at the main benefits of leaving your comfort zone.
Self-development
A positive attitude and hope for success, combined with some anxiety and self-doubt, can lead you to personal growth. This is why sports such as rock climbing or skydiving are often recommended on lists of tips for getting someone out of their comfort zone: you feel nervous and anxious, but when you finish, you feel a huge sense of satisfaction that you did it, and this increases your confidence in to yourself.
Expanding your comfort zone
If you have a small comfort zone—that is, there are only a few things you can do without feeling anxious—you run the risk of living your life in fear and missing out on a lot of fun things. By getting out of your comfort zone more or less regularly, you will gradually increase the number of situations that are familiar and familiar to you.
In this way, you will be able to enjoy life much more, since well-known things are pleasant in themselves, even if at first we felt uncomfortable when mastering them.
Novelty motivates us and helps us learn.
New experiences lead to an increase in dopamine levels in the brain, which is part of the “reward system.” This hormone makes us seek rewards, and new situations increase this thirst. Novelty has also been shown to develop our memory and improve our learning abilities, making our brains more flexible.
Daniel H. Pink, an author on motivation and work management, says in his book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Makes Us Perform that we all strive for some ideal level of discomfort in which we can to be as productive as possible.
This golden mean when discomfort prevents you from relaxing too much and tones you up, without depriving you of the desire or opportunity to work, this is something worth striving for. By getting used to a little discomfort, you will successfully expand your comfort zone. Now you know what it means to get out of your comfort zone and how to do it.
How far are you willing to go beyond your usual boundaries? It's up to you. Perhaps after reading this article you will decide to try something fundamentally new in life. The most important thing is to maintain a healthy balance between safety and comfort, and then you are guaranteed to enjoy life's experiments.
