Magic happens out of your comfort zone
Oct 04, 2022Do you want to do better in your life but don’t see that happening? The most common reason behind this is that you are not ready to move out of your comfort zone. Most people want to have a better life and achieve more. But the only thing holding them back is they don’t want to put themselves out of their comfort zone. But what is a comfort zone and how it is holding us back?
The phrase ‘comfort zone’ was coined by management thinker Judith Bardwick in her 1991 work Danger in the Comfort Zone:
“The 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.[1]”
It’s when people go about routines devoid of risk, causing their progress to the same level; the progress is not growing anymore. This is an area of private space, physically, emotionally, and mentally. That place in our life makes you feel the most at ease and sometimes even tired. If you have a comfortable regular routine, then you are most likely living within your comfort zone. That’s why it’s important to get out of this zone. Magic happens out of your comfort zone and let me explain how in this article.
When leaving the comfort zone, fear doesn’t always equate to being in the panic zone. As the below diagram shows, fear can be a necessary step en route to the learning and growth zones:
Copyright : PositivePsychology.com ‘Leaving The Comfort Zone’ Toolkit
It takes courage to step from the comfort zone into the fear zone. Always in doubt how can you know you took the right decision? It takes sacrifices to make new decision and that can change your whole future. Those decisions can be anxiety provoking. But after a certain time, you enter a new zone: the learning zone, where you gain new skills and deal with challenges resourcefully. After a learning period, a new comfort zone is created, expanding one’s ability to reach even greater heights. This is what it means to be in the growth zone. So, having new experience out of your comfort zone helps you to grow and this is really important because that will make you change your perspective.
We don’t even realize but sometimes we develop a habit or get comfortable in our life. We know that habit is not good, but we still don’t want to change that because we feel secure and comfy. That sense of security and comfort ness makes us lazy. For example: someone wants to open their business, but they are afraid to do so because they have a secure and cozy life, and they are not ready to put that at risk. So, they decide to quit the dreams and live more predictable and comfy life.
In short, get out of your comfort zone to outgrowth yourself. This magic will not happen by itself, you will need to put yourself out there. The process of moving from the comfort zone to a growth zone may not be linear. It can be a complicated and confusing journey. Sometimes you will need to retreat to the comfort zone periodically before mustering the strength to leave again. We all know that if we want to achieve our goals, we need to put ourselves out there and be more vulnerable rather than be in our comfort zone. You cannot expect extraordinary results if you are not ready to put in extraordinary efforts. The best sailors aren’t born in smooth waters. We can have a decent life, but we can also have a great life depending on how much you are willing to push yourself.
