What is a comfort zone?
Safe. Reassuring. Easy. Comfortable. I personally crave newness and adventure, but I can also see why people stay within their comfort zone. It’s easy and the rewards are instant. And what’s wrong with that?
I pulled some stats from a British Heart Foundation research project. They surveyed 2000 people, and found that 55% of Brits stick to the same routine day-in-day-out, and that ALMOST A THIRD can’t remember when they last stepped out of their comfort zone (and this was pre-pandemic, so I can’t imagine what those stats would look like now!).
So let me ask you this. Are you fulfilled in your comfort zone? What do you think would happen if you left it?
Why do we stay in our comfort zone?
The irony is, we stay in the comfort zone to avoid uncomfortable emotions, but this only lessens the impact of the emotions we label as pleasurable. In order to feel the good, we need to experience the bad, otherwise we have no point of reference – and yet we strive to avoid the emotions we label as bad. So why are we so resistant to leaving our comfort zones? Sometimes it may be fear of the unknown, but much of the time it’s fear of failure.
But if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. And how does that help you move forward?
How can I have more confidence, and step out of my comfort zone?
I wanted to find out what goes on in the head of a woman who strives to live outside their comfort zones, so I had a chat with Metz Bryan-Fasano. Metz was part of a team that founded an ad agency last year – during a global pandemic – and is all about spending as little time in her comfort zone as possible. You can listen to what Metz had to say here.
This also got me thinking a lot more about comfort zones, why your bitch keeps showing up to hold you back and the benefits of shutting her down and taking a step outside – check out my podcast to find out more.
And finally, if you’re ready to take a step towards being more confident, download my Confidence Hack Pack now.