Tips to get out of your comfort zone and not die at the attempt

To talk of comfort zone, It is necessary to talk about anxiety levels. Our comfort zone is a psychological state that allows us to stay at a low level of anxiety constantly. It is based on a type of behavior on which the person operates within a position of little or no anxiety. It is where our uncertainty and vulnerability are minimized, where we believe we have everything (or almost everything) under control.

Everyday activities such as cooking, watch TV, read, etc. To which we are accustomed, they will not make us feel anxious or restless, so they are part of our comfort zone.

Content

• The benefits of moderate anxiety
• How to get out of your comfort zone in 6 steps
  • 1. Do everyday things differently
  • 2. Free your rhythm
  • 3. Trust yourself and make quick decisions
  • 4. Accept uncertainty
  • 5. Find support in others
  • 6. Make it in small steps
• What is obtained when leaving the comfort zone and trying new things
  • We will be more productive
  • It will be easier for us to face new and unexpected changes
  • It will be easier to overcome our limits in the future
  • It will be easier to exchange ideas and take advantage of our creativity
• Why it is important to return to the comfort zone from time to time

The benefits of moderate anxiety

Although anxiety is not something we like to go looking, a little can be beneficial. A pinch of anxiety pushes us every day to do our job and improve our performance.

A study with mice conducted in 1908 showed that when a task was easy to wear, the performance shown by the mice increased as their anxiety levels increased. On the other hand, when a task was difficult, the increase in anxiety only helped if a certain threshold was not exceeded, apparently the combination of a difficult task and high anxiety exerts a negative effect on stress and subsequent performance.

The comfort zone is often illustrated how we can see in the following image, where the Comfort zone extends to a learning area, but over time it leads to a panic zone, Where anxiety is too high.

Thus, when the task was easy, the mice were in their comfort zone and completed it without feeling any anxiety. As the mice anxiety levels increased, they entered their learning zone and at the same time to a better performance. But when the task was difficult, a lower level of anxiety was needed to reach their learning zone, and they soon fell into their panic area, where the performance was drastically reduced.

How to get out of your comfort zone in 6 steps

Although it does not always seem like it, Out of our comfort zone can be a good place to be, as long as we don't tilt the balance too far. It is important to remember that there is a difference between the type of controlled anxiety that we are talking about and the real anxiety with which many people fight every day. On the other hand, the comfort zone of each person is different, and what for someone means expanding their horizons, for another it can mean total panic. Remember, optimal anxiety can lead us to improve at many levels, but excess will lead us to disaster.

Here we present some ways to get out (and to be able to expand) our comfort zone without going too far:

1. Do everyday things differently

This is something that we can all start doing in a simple way. For example, make a different route to go to work, try a new restaurant or a new meal, change your way of dressing or combing, talk to a stranger .. Recalibrate your reality, It doesn't matter if the change is big or small, the important thing is to make a change in the way of doing things of everyday life. Look for the new perspective you have after change, even if it is negative. Do not be discouraged if things do not come out as you had planned.

2. Free your rhythm

Sometimes A deceleration is all we need to make us feel uncomfortable, especially considering that speed and mental agility are highly appreciated in the work and personal life of today. Reduce speed, observe what is happening, take time to interpret what we see, and then intervene. Sometimes, the mere fact of defending our right to make a deeper decision on a subject can push us out of your comfort zone. Think, don't just react.

3. Trust yourself and make quick decisions

It seems that we are in contradiction with the previous point, but it is for a good reason. Like there are people who make quick decisions, others feel more comfortable weighing all possible options several times, again and again. For this type of people It is good to get more often carried out by impulses. If they do, they can finally manage their personal projects and learn to trust their intuition more.

4. Accept uncertainty

Not knowing what will happen and the insecurity that this sensation creates us, drives us towards a desperate attempt to control the future and anticipate as it is towards endless probabilities. Not knowing is synonymous with helplessness, and therefore, fear of the unknown. This is what drives us to stay whenever we can in our beloved comfort zone. But we must accept once and for all that Uncertainty is part of life, just like change, So do not try to control everything, let yourself take and release from time to time the reins.

5. Find support in others

Often get out of our own comfort zone can be complicated, but if there is someone close to whom you trust (a relative, a friend ...) you can explain what you are trying to do. Sure you can help you and you will throw a cable when you need it. Do not despise the help of others, Remember that people are made to interact with each other and to support us!

6. Make it in small steps

You need a lot of courage to get out of our comfort zone. And even if you do not believe it, the same benefits are obtained if we go fast as if we do not do it little by little, so do not be afraid of starting slowly, The important thing is to take the first step and not back. If, for example, you are socially anxious, you do not assume that you have to gather sufficient value to make an appointment from the first change, simply greets and starts a small conversation. Identify your fears, and then cool them step by step.

There are many things you can do to test your personal limits. Could you Learn a new language for example. Learning a language has multiple benefits, especially if you have limited yourself to observing the world from afar, because perhaps this is the way to travel to more distant and unknown places. Visiting new and different places is one of the best ways to expand our perspective of reality, and it does not have to be expensive, there are many ways and places to travel. The experiences we have can be amazing or unfortunate, but that does not matter. The point is that we will be doing it, and that we are pushing ourselves beyond the mental blockages that indicate to do nothing.

Trying new things is difficult. If it weren't, leaving your comfort zone would be easy and we would do it all the time. It is so important to understand how habits are formed and how we can break, how to learn to force ourselves to go outside our comfort zone doing specific things.

What is obtained when leaving the comfort zone and trying new things

Optimal anxiety is that place where mental productivity and performance reach its highest peak. Even so, "higher performance" and "greater productivity" simply sound to "do more things". But what is really obtained when we are willing to leave the comfort zone?

We will be more productive

Keep us in the comfort zone kills productivity, since without the feeling of discomfort of having deadlines and expectations, we tend to make the minimum necessary to get ahead. We lose the vision and ambition to do more and learn new things. On the other hand, falling into the trap that "we are too busy" for change is another way of staying in our comfort areas and avoiding doing new things. Push our personal limits can help us grow, do more things and find the most intelligent way to work.

It will be easier for us to face new and unexpected changes

In an article by The New York Times, Brene Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, explains that one of the worst things we can do is believe that there are no fear and uncertainty. When taking risks in a controlled way and doing things that we would not normally do, we will realize that uncertainty can also be manageable. Learn to live outside our comfort zone voluntarily, prepares us to face with more courage the changes that life holds us.

It will be easier to overcome our limits in the future

Once we start leaving our comfort zone, it will become easier over time. As we spend more time outside our comfort zone, we will get used to that state of optimal anxiety. "Productive discomfort", as they call it, becomes more normal, and that we will be willing to go further than before every time.

It will be easier to exchange ideas and take advantage of our creativity

The search for new experiences, learning skills unknown to us and opening the door to new ideas inspire and educate us in a surprising way. Trying new things can make us reflect on our old ideas And see where they "collide" with these new knowledge, inspire us to learn more and challenge prejudices. Even in a short term, an uncomfortable positive experience can help us develop a brainstorm, see old problems from a new perspective and face the challenges with new energy.

Why it is important to return to the comfort zone from time to time

But You can't live outside your comfort zone all the time. It is necessary to return from time to time to process our experiences. The last thing we want is that the new and interesting quickly becomes a common and boring place.

This phenomenon, called hedonistic adaptation, It is the natural tendency to be impressed by new things only to become ordinary after a short period of time (this phenomenon also occurs with purchases; we want something desperately and when we have it, it begins to lose its value). That is why although today we have access to the largest human knowledge deposit ever created (Internet) and is within our reach (in our smartphones), we get bored more than ever because we achieve everything with extreme speed, almost effortless. This prevents us from appreciating the subtle and daily things sufficiently.

Take it calmly, take the necessary time to reflect on your experiences, So you can take advantage of the acquired benefits and you can apply them in your day to day. Then, do something new and interesting again. Try something new every week or every month, not every day.

Similarly, do not limit yourself to great experiences. Maybe meditation pushes you out of your comfort zone as much as the bridge. The goal is not to become an adrenaline addict, what is sought is to learn to recognize what you are able to do. That is another reason why it is important to return to a state of comfort and relaxation. But do not forget to go in search of those moments of inspiration, creation and production, which are also a bit uncomfortable, from time to time.

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