It's scary to leave your comfort zone. Comfort zone: everything goes out. Good Deeds - Volunteer

“If you want something you’ve never had before, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done before.”

Richard Bach

I often come across this phenomenon that people don’t understand what it is personal comfort zone.

A person is sure that he has never been in his comfort zone, so calls to leave it cause him bewilderment - how can you get out of a place where you have never been?

The misconception lies in the fact that most people believe that the comfort zone is the space where a person physically and emotionally feels best, where it is good and pleasant for him to be.

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A person does not understand the meaning of the expression “comfort zone,” hence the misunderstanding of why one needs to leave it.

In this article we’ll talk about what kind of beast this “comfort zone” is, whether you need to leave it or whether it’s better to stay.

What is a personal comfort zone?

In reality, a comfort zone is a space in which a person has settled, and this place or state becomes familiar to him.

Comfort zone = familiar zone

A comfort zone is a familiar environment, where everything is clear and understandable, where every step is calculated in advance.

A zone where a person feels safe, because he knows in advance the outcome of events and the result of his actions.

The personal comfort zone is what is familiar.

Let's say a person decides to change jobs. His old place of work is his comfort zone, everything is clear and familiar there.

Moving to a new place will be a way out of this zone for him, since now, along with a higher status and level of earnings, the degree of responsibility, the volume of workload and the time spent on performing duties have also increased.

Changes for a person that cause stress in a new environment will be a way out of the comfort zone.

The situation remains uncomfortable for a person until he is drawn into a new position, until the situation becomes clear and familiar.

As soon as one gets used to circumstances where everything becomes familiar, stable and predictable, the situation turns into a comfort zone.

Now the discomfort zone has changed polarity and has become the comfort zone.

What is the pitfall of staying in the comfort zone for a long time?

There is a statement that if a frog is placed in a bowl of water and the water is gradually heated, the frog begins to adapt.

She will increase her body temperature to remain comfortable in this environment.

Sooner or later, a critical moment will come when the water gets so hot that the frog can no longer stay in it.

But she will also not be able to jump out of the hot water, since she has spent all her strength raising her body temperature.

And I had no strength left to jump out of the hot water. As a result, the frog will be boiled in boiling water, that is, it will not survive.

If you place a frog immediately in hot water, she will immediately jump out of the boiling water.

Because staying in such an environment is very uncomfortable for her and she has enough strength to jump.

When the situation in a person’s life gradually worsens and the changes taking place are practically invisible to him, the same thing happens to him as to a frog.

A person first agrees to some concessions, suffers inconvenience, and then to others.

So he gradually puts up with troubles, and as a result, imperceptibly for himself, he switches to the consciousness of the victim and gets used to this state.

What a person gets used to is his comfort zone.

A person can sit and think, as if something is not working out for him, something is wrong in his life and something needs to be changed, but he does nothing about it, putting it off until later.

And when the situation is simply terrible, and there is no strength to live in such conditions anymore, he also does not have enough strength to change something in his life, because the efforts were spent on adaptation and addiction.

The longer a person is inactive, the more his ability to make decisions and do something to change his life atrophies.

His efficiency in clearing the bar over which he is able to jump may be much lower at the critical moment.

If a person does not have the motivation to change anything in his situation, then life itself stimulates, throwing up problems that motivate him to action.

Troubles knock a person out of his stable, familiar zone, and he forced to take action and take action.

It is thanks to this coincidence of circumstances that his life can radically change for the better.

For example, a situation when a person loses his job and is very worried about it.

But after time, he opens his own business and gets firmly on his feet. Because, finding himself in a hopeless situation, he begins to act.

A person has potential, but lacks the trigger that will shift attention to opportunities. Troubles become such a trigger.

Or a case when a family breaks up and a person is forced to remain alone and is upset because of this state of affairs.

Especially if it is a girl with a child in her arms. But later her life develops very well, and she is already happy that her first relationship broke up.

If you take a closer look, the circumstances in which people initially found themselves most likely could not be called comfortable.

They're just familiar. The man got used to that job and accepted the unsettled life and low salary.

The girl got used to that relationship, although there was a lot of deception and claims in it.

It is always easier to solve a problem at its very beginning than to later seek energy and strength to eliminate it.

There are always new opportunities, we are surrounded by them. Another thing is how developed your ability to see the maximum of them is. Read the article to find out what is needed for this.

A person is given potential and it is his responsibility to realize his uniqueness, reveal himself, and give his creations to the world.

Living consciously, pulling yourself out of your comfort zone is an exciting journey in constant learning new things.

A journey when many wonderful events happen in life.

How often do you notice in a timely manner that it’s time to leave your personal comfort zone?

Your stories will be very useful to many readers of our blog.

​​​​​​​In life, we constantly encounter situations when we need to change something or even just do something unusual and new, but fear of the unknown often prevents us from acting. Our inner voice begins to convince us that everything is not so bad, and who knows whether it will be good if we start changing our lives. There are internal boundaries within which we feel safe only because everything there is familiar and familiar to us. It is these internal frameworks that force us to hold on to relationships that have outlived their usefulness, to work that does not bring us satisfaction, and even to the usual way of thinking. These internal frameworks form our comfort zone.

Comfort zone is an area of ​​living space that gives a feeling of comfort and security. As a rule, the comfort zone is determined by familiar patterns of behavior; what you are used to is what you are comfortable with. An established world where everything is familiar, stable and predictable.

​​​​​​​​Simply put, this is a state in which you feel “at ease.” It would seem that what’s wrong with comfort and safety? Nothing, except that they make it very difficult to develop and learn new things.

Any learning and learning involves going beyond the boundaries of your comfort zone.

Beyond the comfort zone is the risk zone. Reasonable exit beyond the comfort zone into the risk zone - necessary condition personality development.

As a rule, the younger a person is, the easier and more willing he is to expand his comfort zone. When a healthy person lingers in a comfort zone for a long time and makes no effort to leave this zone and expand its boundaries, then his development stops, turning into personality degradation.

​​​​​​​This formulation very clearly makes us feel the inevitability of overcoming boundaries if we are interested in our own development.

First, we need to figure out how exactly we can understand that we are stuck in our comfort zone. We can understand this by our reaction to any new situation that we encounter or even just think about. The first reaction will most likely be fear. We would like to emphasize that the reaction to something new can be completely different (excitement, curiosity, interest, anxiety), but fear is a destructive feeling and an indicator that you don’t want to leave your comfort zone. Further, based on this fear, someone stuck in the comfort zone can choose several behavior options: “run and hide,” ignore, protest, resist and try to prevent change, while the path leading to expanding the comfort zone involves acceptance and adaptation.

Awareness

The most an important condition leaving our comfort zone can be considered the realization that we are stuck in it. Without admitting to ourselves that we are stuck in our comfort zone, we cannot move from a dead point. It is very important to accept the idea that we are stuck here and that we need to break out of the current situation by defining an area of ​​our comfort zone. This is our work, our business, established relationships that do not suit us, the city, the apartment where we live - all this can be our comfort zone, which no longer suits us, but we are afraid of change and do nothing to change your life.

Bear in a cramped cage

In one small zoo, a bear was kept in a cramped cage for a long time, so that he could only take 4 steps in one direction, turn around and take 4 steps back. So he walked all day long around the cage back and forth. Visitors felt sorry for the bear and said: “How happy he would probably be if he managed to be free.” Time passed, the zoo began to be renovated, and all the animals were given large spacious enclosures. They had a lot of greenery, and there was even a swimming pool in the bear's enclosure. Zoo workers were anticipating how happy the huge beast would be when he was transferred from a cramped cage to a spacious enclosure. And now the long-awaited day has come. The bear was moved into a tiny cage for transportation and taken to a new location. Even while in the transport cage, the bear managed to take his mandatory 4 steps back and forth. Finally he was released into a new spacious enclosure. The bear looked around, carefully took a step, two, three, four... And then turned and took 4 steps back again. He was never able to understand that now the bars of the cage that limited his freedom existed only in his imagination. But these bars in the beast’s memory turned out to be stronger than the real ones. This is how the bear still walks in the huge enclosure: 4 steps there and 4 steps back.

This is why the stage of realizing that boundaries exist is so important.

Realizing that we are stuck in our comfort zone, we need to act.

We have conditionally divided the program of action to get out of the comfort zone into five steps and designated them with the abbreviation ZORRO.

ZORRO

1. Task. The first step to overcome internal boundaries is to set a Problem. That is, we will decide what we want to achieve, what result we want to achieve.

Let's say we realized that we are uncomfortable or scared to meet new people. Accordingly, our task will be to get to know each other as much and as often as possible, in order to make this process familiar, and therefore comfortable.

2. OZR. The next stage is the formulation of the Scope of the planned result. Volume of planned result (VRP) - specifics, how much and what I plan to get by a certain date as a result of working on Distance exercises or other obligations in working on myself. As a rule, these are numbers, facts or expert assessment. The formulation of the OZR contributes to a clearer and more effective performance of work (including work on oneself), provides criteria for completing the exercise and the answer to the question: “How will I know that the exercise has been completed?” (OZR) and prescribing specific steps to achieve it.

How do we know when we have expanded our comfort zone? It is clear that the criterion will be calmness when making acquaintances, but this state cannot be “weighed”. Therefore, we will define ORR in our case as a specific number of acquaintances per month of work to get out of the comfort zone. And we will outline the specific number of people we expect to include in the plan for each day. It is worth noting that it is necessary to gradually increase their number within reasonable limits. Will the planned number of acquaintances lead to a comfortable state? Even if not completely, then in any case, progress will be obvious.

The main trick in this case is that by switching the focus of attention from the state to specific work to get out of the comfort zone, we will develop the desired state. A state of comfort will not come on its own; it requires specific work. That's what we'll do.

3. Job. The work includes the systematic passage of the planned steps. We have planned certain actions for every day, and now our task is to carry them out. It would be optimal to write daily reports on the work done, analyzing the results and progress.

4. Job. Repeating the point is not just a justification for the double RR in the acronym.

We wanted to emphasize two aspects.

• Firstly, the fact that Work is the main thing that is required to expand the comfort zone and, accordingly, we devote the bulk of our time to it.
• Secondly, this work must be carried out consistently and the increase in volumes must be gradual. And this is very important.

The problem with getting out of your comfort zone is that people often try to jump straight to the level they want to achieve. This may work for some people, but for most, it will only cause them to stay in their comfort zone, even just because of the anxiety that comes from trying to “bite off more than they can chew.” It is gradual development and expansion that can lead to adaptation of the new zone. And you need to understand that going through the stages will take some time. It is impossible to immediately get used to the new expanded zone. We remember that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit. In fact, learning a new habit is also an expansion of your comfort zone.

If we don't make sure that we are comfortable with ever-increasing volume, then we run a high risk of destroying the results of all our work. Therefore, each stage and each step at this stage should become comfortable.

5. Development. And finally, the fifth step is complete development in the new territory. Achieving ORM. This is actually our new comfort zone.

Exercises

“My fear of something usually means I have to do it” - Madonna.

In addition to expanding our comfort zone in a particular area in which we have realized the need for it, we believe it is very important to develop the habit of stepping out of our comfort zone in any situation. To do this, you need to learn to remove fear when meeting something new. We offer “simulators” for developing such a habit.

1. Change the usual little things. You can try to go to work on a different route, change your usual daily routine, or go not to the store on the way, but to the one on the other street, to buy unusual food products.
2. Meet someone. This is a very good way to get out of your comfort zone. It doesn’t matter where or how, the main thing is that the person is new to you.
3. Find courses or trainings, clubs that interested you, but for some reason (and we already know what) you refused the idea of ​​going there.
4. Learn what you once wanted to be able to do. Playing the balalaika, making rolls, cross-stitching - all these are excellent exercises for expanding your comfort zone.
5. Read a book, watch a movie, or listen to music in a genre that is unfamiliar to you. Love rock, listen to jazz. If you like melodramas, watch a thriller. Love prose, read poetry.
6. Go on an unplanned trip. Don't plan anything, decide everything as you go. You will be able to get a lot of impressions and definitely expand your comfort zone.
7. Go to a new unusual place. To an unfamiliar restaurant and better than a previously unfamiliar cuisine.
8. Dress unusually. If you are a girl who is not used to wearing dresses, buy and wear. Unusual colors, styles and new brands - all this is also in our treasury of training equipment. If you're a guy who only wears T-shirts and jeans, dress classic (nice shoes, expensive trousers, a stylish light jacket with a bright tie or scarf). Well, at least wear a shirt instead of a T-shirt - for starters, that's good.
9. Rearrange the furniture. Take a fresh look at your room and try to rearrange it at least a little.
10. Get on a bus with an unfamiliar route number.
11. Make your list of training situations.

In conclusion, there is a wonderful metaphor from Gennady Pavlenko, which fully illustrates our behavior when we cling to our comfort zone or, as in this case, to our usual worldview.

“Imagine that you are in a tank. You drive forward through life, observing everything that happens through a narrow viewing slit. The very fact that you are a tanker already indicates that life for you is war. At the same time, through the gap you can see that people are walking around. They just walk. They don't fight. They fall in love, quarrel, work, be lazy, relax, read... What do these people look like from a tank? Like fools, right? What if the sniper is from the roof? Or infantry to attack? What will they do with their shirts painted with flowers?! Therefore, it’s better to be in a tank. Yes, it's hot. Yes, it's shaking. Yes, it’s a bit cramped, but no sniper can reach you! And the fact that they are not there is only a matter of time. And time, by the way, passes, and the tanker finishes his life path, without even having time to start it. Is it true? some, at the end of their lives, when there is nothing left to lose, still pluck up the courage to look out of the hatch, but since there is still no time, they dive back into their tank. It's more common there...

But there’s so much stuff there, behind the reliable armor! Yes, it's unusual. Yes, it's scary. Yes, everything inside is screaming - it’s impossible! But it is necessary. Why is it necessary? Why is it necessary? Then... well, it’s somehow a pity to spend such a cool life in a tank. Why is it necessary? Because there, behind the armor, it’s INTERESTING!”

How to get out of your comfort zone? According to a widespread and very popular idea today, a person can create and develop only when he leaves the so-called “comfort zone” as much as possible.

This is a place where you don’t have to make extra efforts to achieve anything - eat, earn money, get moral satisfaction from something...

According to biological research, cells of a living organism receive positive growth dynamics only then, when they are exposed to external factors,most often to irritants.

It is this factor that is fundamental for bodybuilders who, working with heavy weights in training, pump up their muscles and increase their volume.

By drawing analogies with a person’s life, one can be convinced that there are similar moments in it when a person begins to lead a productive life only when he is forced to do so based on the events and characteristics of his life.

If you agree that your life has become a series of easily predictable events that have nothing to do with self-development and moving forward, then we can advise you on some of the most proven ways to get out of your comfort zone. And doing this is necessary for a full life.

For example, the following may be taken into account:

1) Most in a simple way leaving your comfort zone is change of usual daily routine. If you long time If you continue to carry out the same actions according to plan, then choose a day when you will not follow the schedule.

You will see that, instead of the initial stress, the body will begin to show you in every possible way how much it likes this proposal and you will notice positive changes for the better.

2) New acquaintances. Perhaps you often run into someone in the corridor of a university or dormitory, but never get to know each other?

Taking the first step will take you outside of your comfort zone and will serve you in a positive way. After all, your chances of making a pleasant interlocutor and even over time a new reliable friend will increase.

In any case, you certainly don’t lose anything when you start meeting new people, and that’s already great.

3) Start attending lectures on free topics or just sign up for a sports section where set yourself specific goals.

Reaching them, you will feel excitement, which in the future will push you to finally leave the cozy penates of the notorious comfort zone.

4) Do it often rash actions And make unpopular decisions. If you suddenly have the idea of ​​hitchhiking, then go immediately, without thinking twice about it. Spontaneity often holds the secret to business success!

5) If you have been working in the same place for a long time and are already accustomed to doing your work automatically, then start trying yourself in a new role.

Start helping your colleagues with their part of the project and see how much the overall productivity of your office will increase.

6) In the case of regular exercise, everything is simple. If you are a beginner, just take the first step and then move like a locomotive that has picked up speed.

If you have been training for a long time and have begun to feel the routine of your activities, simply double the load. New challenges mobilize the body's hidden reserves!

7) If you enjoy cooking, learn new recipes and try new homemade dishes. This will at least give you a great opportunity to try something new.

8) Constantly learn something new for yourself, something we had never thought of before. A fact learned every day brings you one step closer to understanding certain things.

9) Every day open the dictionary and look for an unfamiliar word there. Then use it as often as possible in various interpretations throughout the day.

This will not only make your vocabulary more, but it will also take you beyond the zone of safety and comfort, where progress is impossible by definition.

10) Start renovating your apartment, if nothing has been changed in it for a long time. This is very mobilizing and forces you to squeeze into a framework - both temporary and aesthetic.

11) Physical labor itself has a very significant effect on the body and helps you go beyond your usual standards.

At least if you know how to do something with your hands, then from time to time you have to use this skill, which only benefits you.

So practice something more often, even if at first glance it seems difficult and completely unnecessary.

12) Not so significant, but still, over time, the TV begins to absorb more and more of your attention. Try to get rid of this and see how much more efficient your days become. At the same time, I have more free time, which is already pleasing.

13) Make a stranger happy- this is perhaps the most effective method of making someone next to you happy. At least you won’t share “all the joys and hardships for two”...

14)New habits, which you apply in life, are also one of the methods of going beyond the proverbial comfort zone. It usually takes three weeks for a habit to become ingrained in your mind, so there is something to work on.

15) Do more often what is not typical of your consciousness and habits, and then the creative process will never stop.

Having analyzed the methods of leaving your comfort zone, it will not be a bad idea to remember the person. After all, the question “Why?” always relevant, especially when you perform actions that are not typical for your body.

So why is it important to step outside your comfort zone from time to time? The answer lies in the four stages of our willingness to do what is beyond the usual.

1. In case of lack of experience in any kind of issue, the speed of learning increases in direct proportion. And the aspects and features of this industry are no longer important to you - the main thing is that you need to learn quickly and effectively.

2. If time is short, and there is not enough knowledge to solve the task, everything that interferes is cut off, and we begin to work with our heads more focused.

3. If you don’t have enough strength, you have to use the subconscious and, with its help, go to suitable level implementation of a certain thought.

4. At this stage, it doesn’t matter whether you decide to act or not - it’s necessary, it means it’s necessary!

As you can see, leaving your comfort zone from time to time is great. At the very least, get a great adventure in your usual life.

There is an old and very correct saying: “Fish looks for where it is deeper, but man looks for where it is better.” And this is completely correct and natural. Every person strives to make their life as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. The living space is larger, the car is faster, the bed is softer, the computer is more powerful. It would be complete idiocy to refuse these benefits of civilization.

It would seem, what’s wrong with a calm, comfortable existence? You feel relaxed, there are no risks in your life, you are happy with the way things are going and do not feel any need to change anything. You may not feel incredibly happy, or 100% satisfied, but at least you feel comfortable, right?

Almost always, your comfort zone is the fruit of self-deception. You tell yourself that there is no better alternative to your current situation, that you have spent too much effort building it, that it is already too hard to change anything in life. You stop at one, albeit rather convenient, place and with your own hands nullify all the magnificent prospects of your life. Your comfort zone turns into the end point of your journey. Why is this happening?

You're getting soft

What happens to a person who is immersed in a bath with warm water? He relaxes, goes limp. What if such a stay is extended for quite a long time? That's right, he is deteriorating. His muscles lose tone and very soon he will not only be able to run, but even just stand still.

But this applies not only to the body. The same thing happens with our brain.

No need to decide complex tasks leads to dilution in the head and loss of clarity of thinking, ability to learn and make decisions.

You become a vegetable that moves along the same path every day and performs the same tasks every day.

Meanwhile, remember what period of your life was the most fruitful and creative for you? I am sure that these were not the most well-fed and comfortable times. Some will remember sleepless nights as students, others will remember life-threatening journeys and situations, others will remember crisis periods of my life when I had to start all over again.

You give up on life goals

Every, okay, almost every person has somewhere deep in the subcortex that very cherished goal of their life. Yes, something from the “see Paris and die” series. The most interesting thing is that very often these goals are not so exorbitant and unattainable. But something always gets in our way.

You may never recognize yourself

There is an opinion, and it is quite justified, that only in difficulties is the true face of a person revealed. You can live your whole life in hothouse conditions and never know what you are really capable of. Can you really be brave and inventive? Are you really able to show patience and perseverance or do you just imagine it?

It's time to get out of your comfort zone and understand, if only for yourself, what kind of person you really are and where the limits of your capabilities lie. I assure you that the result will definitely surprise you.

Sooner or later, the comfort zone for any person turns into a factor that slows down his development and deprives life of the thrill. Remember the most interesting moments of your life. Surely most of them are connected precisely with those moments when you did something unusual, extreme, beyond the usual routine. We stepped out of our comfort zone.

So why not do it again?