Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
~ Neale Donald Walsch
If you are interested in personal development, you probably want to achieve something you’ve never done. While setting goals and planning your approach are important steps toward making a positive change, it’s not usually enough to guarantee success.
Often, our ability to reach challenging goals depends on how much we are willing to operate outside our comfort zones [1]. This is because whatever new experience or outcome we are trying to achieve will require us to develop a new skill, adopt new beliefs, and find new ways to cope with our emotions. All these changes can lead to discomfort. If we cannot tolerate this, it will be impossible to reach our goals.
At the same time, constant discomfort can limit growth. The stress that comes from being in unfamiliar circumstances can wear us down and diminish our performance. For this reason, our comfort zones play an important role in personal development. In fact, some learning experts believe that true growth comes from expanding the comfort zone rather than remaining outside of it [2].
Expansion means that we improve our skills and increase the situations where we feel comfortable rather than constantly subjecting ourselves to completely new and overwhelming challenges.
Taking small steps rather than giant leaps enables us to push the boundary of our comfort zones while maintaining our energy and keeping stress to a useful level. Before we get into how to expand the comfort zone, let’s go over what it is.
What is the comfort zone?
A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.
~ Unknown
The comfort zone is a psychological state where we feel little to no stress. This is because whatever situation we are in is familiar. However, this doesn’t mean that being in the comfort zone equates to being unproductive.
When we engage in tasks that we are highly experienced or skilled in, we can produce a steady output without incurring any physiological stress or anxiety. Think of the tasks you do in your daily routine. These activities are probably within your comfort zone, even if they are not relaxing or easy to do.
Going beyond what is familiar doesn’t come easily to most people. Below, I’ll outline some evidence-backed ways to expand your comfort zone.
How can you get out of your comfort zone?
Rather than abandoning your comfort zone, the more sustainable way to grow is by making your comfort zone larger. Here are nine ways to challenge yourself without becoming overwhelmed.
1. Manage your stress
In 2000, a teacher named Tom Senninger created the Learning Zone model to visualize the relationship between learning and stress. According to this model, a moderate amount of stress, also known as eustress, offers the best conditions for learning. The skills just beyond your current abilities are in your learning zone. You can tell you’re in the learning zone if you feel challenged, but not overly stressed.
If stress and anxiety levels rise above that, we enter the panic zone, and learning declines. On the other hand, if our arousal levels are low, we remain in the comfort zone. This can affect learning and growth, as a lack of pressure can cause boredom or demotivation.
The Learning Zone is so conducive to growth because it enables us to feel just the right amount of stress to boost our performance and thus support our well-being. For this reason, stress management is key to getting out of the comfort zone.
If a task makes us feel overwhelmed, we may need to reduce our arousal to stay in the learning zone. Some ways to lower your stress include taking a break from the task or asking for help.
On the other hand, a bit of stress is needed to expand the comfort zone. If a task is too easy or the why is not compelling enough, we can add a bit of challenge to make it more motivating.
For example, the platform StickK uses a technique known as a commitment device to add motivating pressure to achieve an end goal. A commitment device is an external consequence tied to achieving the goal. Some examples include opening a savings account with a withdrawal fee or joining a team sport. If you get off-track on your goal, you risk losing your investment or disappointing others.
StickK users can find a coach or accountability partner to check on their progress. This works because the social consequence of letting others down can increase motivation for some people. You can learn more about commitment devices and other motivation-boosting techniques here: 7 Strategies for When Motivation Fails You.
2. Improve your skills
If we can master the skills in our learning zones, they eventually become part of our comfort zone. Eventually, tasks and situations that once lived in the panic or fear zone will enter the learning zone and become much more achievable [3].
So, if you are trying to do something you’ve never done before, start by improving the skills you already have. For example, instead of starting a brand-new business, you can start out as a freelancer selling the services you performed at your job. Once you learn more about being self-employed, you can use those skills to start a business in a less familiar field.
3.Challenge your beliefs
Our comfort zones are not only made up of the things we know how to do but also the way we view the world. According to schema theory, our life experiences help us develop a network of knowledge that influences how we understand and interact with new information [4].
For example, what comes to mind when you think of a house? You probably imagine the type of house you grew up in. Maybe the house is made of brick or wood and has a roof and a small yard. However, there are many types of houses around the world that look nothing like your schema of a house. If you see a photo of a Turkish cave house or an open-air home in the Amazon basin, it might challenge your pre-existing ideas of what a house looks like.
If our schemas are too rigid, instead of changing our beliefs based on what we’ve learned, we dismiss the new information and keep our viewpoints intact.
Moving beyond our comfort zone requires the ability to take in new information and try out new ways of doing things. To do so, you will need to challenge your beliefs. You can ask yourself the following questions to expand your open-mindedness:
4. Value your effort
Doing things outside of your comfort zone will require more effort. Unfortunately, if someone views their skills or strengths as innate and unchanging, theyare more likely to feel ashamed or embarrassed when they must put forth effort.
People with this fixed mindset may believe that unless a skill comes naturally, they shouldn’t try to learn it. They may also hold rigid, perfectionistic expectations for outcomes, which can cause unnecessary distress. If you hold these beliefs, it may keep you stuck in your comfort zone.
By viewing effort as a positive thing and a marker of progress, it is easier to move into the learning zone. This is because effort, unlike outcomes, is completely under your control. Having more control over an outcome can increase feelings of autonomy or self-direction. This can make the task more intrinsically rewarding, which generates a more lasting form of motivation.
You can put more value on your effort by tracking how much time you’ve put into learning a new skill and rewarding yourself for hitting specific milestones. You can set these goals based on frequency or duration. For example, you can challenge yourself to practice a new skill for an hour a day, 10 days in a row.
Recognizing and rewarding your effort will give you more opportunities to celebrate your achievements. Instead of waiting until the end to celebrate a big win, you can celebrate small wins along the way. This ignites a psychological phenomenon known as the winner effect, where smaller victories give you the confidence boost needed to achieve larger outcomes.
5. Focus on learning, not outcomes
When you step outside of your comfort zone, it might be a while before you can see any tangible outcomes. This can be very frustrating. A lack of visible progress can make people feel defeated.
However, there are so many other abstract benefits of trying something out of your wheelhouse. You can discover a new interest or even learn more about yourself.
If you view getting out of your comfort zone as a learning experience, you will gain more satisfaction from the process.
Studies have shown that focusing on the learning process is linked to better performance, motivation, and engagement [5]. This can make the process more intrinsically rewarding and provide a more sustainable source of motivation.
You can make getting out of your comfort zone more processed focused through the following activities:
6. Seek feedback
The fear of criticism often prevents people from leaving their comfort zone and trying something new. However, viewing feedback as a valuable resource rather than a personal attack can help accelerate growth [6].
You can get feedback from a trusted friend or family member, or someone who is going towards the same goals as you. Finding a mentor who is already very skilled in what you want to learn is also helpful.
7. Anticipate obstacles
People stay in their comfort zones to avoid running into obstacles. Yet, setbacks are part of the learning process. When you anticipate obstacles, you can plan how to overcome them. This way, roadblocks are less likely to derail your progress. Get ahead of problems by answering the following questions:
8. Be self-compassionate
It’s impossible to do everything perfectly outside of your comfort zone. If you could, it wouldn’t be challenging! This reality doesn’t stop some people from beating themselves up when they fall short of their goals.
But think about this, if a friend or family member had a setback while working towards their goal, you probably would be encouraging and supportive. So, try giving yourself the same loving treatment. Instead of berating yourself, treat yourself like a friend and practice self-compassion instead [7].
One major change is to avoid the word “should”. Statements like “I should be able to do this already”, are not helpful. Replace should with a less judgmental verb, such as want, could, or will.
“I want to run a marathon, so I will keep practicing until it’s possible.”
“I could run a marathon, but I need more time to improve my endurance.”
This keeps your thought process focused on what you can do to leave your comfort zone, instead of holding yourself to perhaps unrealistic expectations.
9. Remind yourself it gets easier
Whatever is in your comfort zone today was previously in your panic zone.
Every time you challenge yourself, you increase your tolerance of uncomfortable emotions. And every experience makes expanding your comfort zone that much easier.
Ask yourself these questions to remind yourself of how far you’ve come:
Extra tip: know when to use the comfort zone
While the comfort zone doesn’t have the right conditions to stimulate personal growth, it is ideal for other important states, such as relaxation and rejuvenation. [8].
Knowing when to take a break from expanding will help keep you energized and motivated to go after new opportunities. So, if you’ve just experienced a rather big change in your life, taking some time in your comfort zone to recharge is not a bad thing.
[1] Magnus-Sharpe, S. (2022, March 29). Leaving your comfort zone inspires motivation, growth. Cornell Chronicle. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/03/leaving-your-comfort-zone-inspires-motivation-growth
[2] Kuster, E. (n.d.). Don’t Leave Your Comfort Zone, Expand It. WebMD. Retrieved November 27, 2023, from https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/expand-your-comfort-zone
[3] Jobtraining. (2022, September 19). From comfort zone to learning zone – Jobtraining. https://jobtraining.nl/from-comfort-zone-to-learning-zone-2/
[4] Pankin, J. (2013). Schema Theory. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://web.mit.edu/pankin/www/Schema_Theory_and_Concept_Formation.pdf
[5] Barber, N. (2014, October 2). Focus on the Process and Results Will Follow. Edutopia; George Lucas Educational Foundation. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/focus-process-results-will-follow-nathan-barber
[6] Christine Korol Ph.D. (2022, September 30). How Your Fear of Criticism Could Be Limiting Your Life | Psychology Today. Www.psychologytoday.com. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/still-mind/202209/how-your-fear-of-criticism-could-be-limiting-your-life
[7] Chen, S. (2018, September). Give Yourself a Break: The Power of Self-Compassion. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2018/09/give-yourself-a-break-the-power-of-self-compassion
[8] Andy Molinsky Ph.D. (2017, September 5). When You Should Stay Right Inside Your Comfort Zone | Psychology Today Australia. Www.psychologytoday.com. https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/adaptation/201709/when-you-should-stay-right-inside-your-comfort-zone
