Coming out of the comfort zone

You must have used this term numerous times in your lifetime. By now you must have also understood that comfort zone is a psychological state that you stay in and contrary to what the name suggests it should be Comfortable to stay there.

What is the meaning of Comfort zone?

Comfort zone is a State of mind in which things around you feel familiar and you are at ease and in control of your environment. Since you are in a familiar situation and understand how to deal with things, your anxiety levels and stress are low.
Isn’t that a great thing? Then why is it often used in a negative connotation? This is because in this psychological state only a steady level of performance can happen and progress is either not possible or very slow.

Let’s understand the mechanism :

Since comfort zone minimizes the stress, risk and provides mental security. You receive regular happiness, are at a low anxiety level and the stress is low. There have been many experiments in psychology about comfort zone. Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson found that a relative comfort creates a steady level of performance.

A relative level of anxiety is required to maximize performance, which is a level of anxiety that is little higher than normal. It is also known as “Optimal Anxiety” and is just a little outside the comfort zone. Too much anxiety, on the contrary, drops our performance.

Pushing yourself outside the comfort zone requires effort but you can make amazing results. But push yourself too much and it will be affecting you badly. It will make you less likely to take challenges in future. The brain has a natural pattern of going back to the less anxiety provoking and comfortable situation.
Comfort zone cannot be bad or got, it is just a state of mind that is comfortable for most people. There can be both negative and positive effects of coming out of it. The space that we get in our head when staying in a low stress and low anxiety situation can be beneficial when you come out of it. Stay there for too long and your life will become monotonous.

How to come out of your comfort zone?

Do one thing differently:

Do something different each week. Wear an outfit that you normally don’t, cycle to work instead of driving, start gardening yourself etc.Benefit from the effects of change whether it be positive or negative.

Take one step at a time:

You are trying to come out of the comfort zone. That is already a brave thing! Do it slowly; you will still reach there. If you are anxious socially do not start to go clubbing every day. Find out what you exactly fear on work on it. Having too many expectations from yourself will make you feel frustrated.

Try one new thing:

Take a new hobby class for singing, dancing, cooking, collage making or whatever that you would like to try; Do not procrastinate failing, instead accept that you will fail and then build up from the start like a child.

Be positive about the changes:

Imagine the situation you will be in after you make the change. Try to see what emotions you get when you are there and make a list of all; Tackle each emotion gently and coach yourself out of the situation when you really face it.

Keep your mind open to change all of the time, Dale Carnegie advises. “Welcome it, Court it, It is only by examining and re-examining your opinions and ideas that you can progress.”