What is your comfort zone? And why is it important to get out of it? Your comfort zone is the way you navigate through your life by being familiar with your routines. Your comfort zone can provide safety, contentment, and relaxing moments. But it can also make you feel stagnant and stuck.
According to a study published by the University of St. Andrews in Britain, getting out of your comfort zone improves your self-discovery, feeling of belonging, understanding of what makes you happy, and your sense of self. Getting out of your comfort zone is a significant investment in yourself that helps you learn and grow.
Psychologists believe people stay in their comfort zones because they fear the unknown. According to the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, fear of the unknown is the underlying fear of every other fear a person may have.
Unfamiliar places, people, and situations can cause fear of failure, ridicule, and harm. Often, these fears are based on fantasy or worst-case scenarios. While getting out of your comfort zone can be difficult, the rewards include improved self-esteem, contentment, and excitement about life.
Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone
The leaving the comfort zone psychological model includes four zones:
- Comfort
- Fear
- Learning
- Growth
Researchers have mapped people’s movement through these zones. The fear zone may produce anxiety, but a person reaches the learning zone by continuing through it. In the learning zone, new skills and abilities are added, building self-esteem and resilience. Over time, a new comfort zone is created, known as the growth zone. By overcoming fear, people can continue to learn and grow with less fear.
Mental Tricks
Since leaving your comfort zone is about overcoming fear, it’s helpful to have some mental tricks when you feel stuck or afraid. Social scientists, life coaches, and business leaders offer these mental tricks for getting out of your comfort zone:
- Tell Yourself You’re Not Afraid
- Look Around
- Remind Yourself of Past Accomplishments
- Have a Reason
- Make It a Habit
Affirmations are how you talk to yourself to improve your positive energy and outlook. To overcome fear, tell yourself you are not afraid. Say it out loud or make it a mantra. You’ll be able to take the first step if you tell yourself that you can.
Noticing what’s happening around you helps you overcome fear. It’s also an investment in yourself and your ability to be present. If you need to give a presentation, don’t focus on the one person in the audience who looks angry and upset. Instead, pay attention to the people who look eager to hear from you and any supporters you might have.
You’ve already accomplished many things in your life. When you’re faced with a task you fear, remind yourself of something you’ve already done that once made you afraid. If you can do that, you can do this.
Having a reason to get out of your comfort zone helps overcome fear. Often investing in your happiness involves doing something for someone else. For example, trying a new food or taking a vacation to an exotic location because your partner or friends want to gives you a reason to get out of your comfort zone.
Remember what your comfort zone is? It’s the routines that make you feel safe and content. It’s also the habits you form to maintain your comfort zone. As you work through the model, you will expand your comfort zone and create a new safe space. To do this, start making getting out of your comfort zone a habit. Try little changes, like taking a new route to work or a different coffee blend. The more you challenge yourself, the larger your comfort zone will be.
Staying in your comfort zone can make you feel stale and stuck. Invest in yourself by overcoming fear and getting out of your comfort zone.