How to get out of comfort zone?

When life feels safe and familiar, most people often get stuck in their comfort zone which results in missing many opportunities to further personal growth, learning, and success. Getting out of your comfort zone changes your mindset and it forces you to discover and take risks that lead to success.

What is the comfort zone?

A Comfort zone is a psychological state of humans in which they feel at ease as they are not taking

risks. One example is that people who are in their comfort zone, do not typically engage in new

experiences or take on new challenges rather they engage in situations that are familiar and in

control.

As a person feels comfortable, he/she lacks the courage to change familiar and ‘safe’

experiences that keep them from personal growth. For example, working in a job that is

not fulfilling for many years makes you disengaged and results in scare to challenge your

boundaries no matter that you are capable of more. Because venturing out of your boundaries

involves uncertainty.

How to get out of your comfort zone?

People often do not get out of their comfort zone because of factors, like fear and uncertainty,

fixed mindset, and fixed habits.

In 1908, American psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson conducted research on mice

to find a relationship between performance and anxiety. They discovered that mice were more

motivated to complete a maze when mild electric shocks are applied to them. Yet, when that

shock was too strong, they hid in fear. They concluded that there is an optimal level of

pressure or anxiety that increases performance, but only up to a point. This means too

much pressure has the opposite effect, causing someone to even fear more and panic. So the best way to leave a comfort zone is to gradually expand it and find an optimal level of “good stress”. 

This may include: doing one thing that you always wanted to do, taking on a fitness challenge,

changing daily routines, expanding the professional set of skills, choosing fear and facing it, and

traveling somewhere new to you.

To conclude, being in a safe and familiar state often keep people from personal growth and

success even if they are capable of more. To avoid this comfort zone, people have to find their

optimal level of “good stress” to face new challenges and expand the comfort zone that leads to

their success and both personal and professional growth. Changing daily routines, learning new

professional skills, and doing things that you have always wanted to do can help you to leave

your comfort zone.

So, did you know any other ways to leave your comfort zone?