The science to breaking your comfort zone ( and why you should )



But what is the “comfort zone” exactly? Why is it that we tend to get comfortable with the familiar and our routines, but when we’re introduced to new and interesting things, the glimmer fades so quickly? Finally,
what benefit do we derive from breaking out of our comfort zone, and how do we do it? Answering those questions is a tall order, but it’s not too hard to do. Let’s get started.

#1 The Science of Your “Comfort Zone,” and Why It’s So Hard to Leave It.




The idea of optimal anxiety isn’t anything new. Anyone who’s ever pushed themselves to get to the

Even so, your comfort zone is neither a good or bad thing. It’s a natural state that most people trend towards. Leaving it means increased risk and anxiety, which can have positive and negative results (which we’ll get to in a moment), but don’t demonize your comfort zone as something holding you back. We all need that head-space where we’re least anxious and stressed so we can process the benefits we get when we leave it.

#2 What You Get When You Break Free and Try New Things



You’ll be more productive. Comfort kills productivity because without the sense of unease that comes from
having deadlines and expectations, we tend to phone it in and do the minimum required to get by. We lose the drive and ambition to do more and learn new things. We also fall into the “work trap,” where we feign “busy” as a way to stay in our comfort zones and avoid doing new things. Pushing your personal boundaries can help you hit your stride sooner, get more done, and find smarter ways to work.

You’ll have an easier time dealing with new and unexpected changes. In this article at The New York Times, Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, explains that one of the worst things we can do is pretend fear and uncertainty don’t exist. By taking risks in a controlled fashion and challenging yourself to things you normally wouldn’t do, you can experience some of that uncertainty in a controlled, manageable environment. Learning to live outside your comfort zone when you choose to can prep you for life changes that force you out of it.

You’ll find it easier to push your boundaries in the future. Once you start stepping out of your comfort zone, it gets easier over time.This same NYT article explains that as you step out of your comfort zone, you’ll become accustomed to that state of optimal anxiety.”Productive discomfort,” as they call it, becomes more normal to you, and you’re willing to push farther before your performance falls off.
This idea is well illustrated in this infographic at Future Science Leaders.At the bottom, you’ll see that as you challenge yourself, your comfort zone adjusts so what was difficult and anxiety-inducing becomes easier as you repeat it.


#3 How to Break Out of Your Comfort Zone





Take your time making decisions. Sometimes slowing down is all it takes to make you uncomfortable—especially if speed and quick thinking are prized in your work or personal life. Slow down, observe what’s going on, take your time to interpret what you see, and then intervene.
Sometimes just defending your right to make an educated decision can push you out of your comfort zone. Think, don’t just react.
Trust yourself and make snap decisions. We’re contradicting ourselves, but there’s a good reason. Just as there are people who thrive on snap decisions, others are more comfortable weighing all of the possible options several times, over and over again. Sometimes making a snap call is in order, just to get things moving. Doing so can help you kickstart your personal projects and teach you to trust your judgement. It’ll also show you there’s fallout to quick decisions as well as slow ones.

Do it in small steps
. It takes a lot of courage to break out of your comfort zone. You get the same benefits whether you go in with both feet as you do if you start slow, so don’t be afraid to start slow. If you’re socially anxious, don’t assume you have to muster the courage to ask your crush on a date right away, just say hello to them and see where you can go from there. Identify your fears, and then face them step by step.

There are lots of other ways to stretch your personal boundaries. You could learn a new language or skill. Learning a new language has multiple benefits, many of which extend to learning any new skill. Connect with people that inspire you, or volunteer with an organization that does great work. Travel, whether you go around the block or across the globe. If you’ve lived your whole life seeing the world from your front door, you’re missing out. Visiting new and different places is perhaps one of the best ways to really broaden your perspectives, and it doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to do. The experiences you have may be mind-blowing or regrettable, but that doesn’t matter. The point is that you’re doing it, and you’re pushing yourself past the mental blocks that tell you to do nothing.

Trying new things is difficult. If it weren’t, breaking out of your comfort zone would be easy and we’d do it all the time. It’s just as important to understand how habits form and how we can break them as it is to press yourself out of your comfort zone by doing specific things.

#4 Why It’s Important to Return To Your Comfort Zone from Time to Time



 You can fight this by trying new, smaller things. Ordering something new at a restaurant where you get the same thing every visit can be eye-opening the same way visiting a new country can be, and both push you out of your comfortable spaces. Diversify the challenges you embrace so you don’t just push your boundaries in the same direction. If you’ve been learning Latin-based languages and you find yourself bored, switch gears to a language with a completely different set of characters. If you’ve taken up running, instead of just trying to run longer and farther, try challenging yourself to run on different terrain. You still get the challenge, but you broaden your horizons in a different way.

#5 Take It Slow, and Make Stretching Your Boundaries a Habit Of Its Own



 Similarly, don’t limit yourself to big, huge experiences. Maybe meditation pushes you out of your comfort zone just as much as bungee jumping. Try the former if you’ve already done the latter. The goal isn’t to become an adrenaline junkie—you just want to learn to learn what you’re really capable of.
That’s another reason why it’s important to return to a comfortable state sometimes and just relax. Just don’t forget to bring back as much as you can carry from those inspired, creative, productive, and slightly uncomfortable moments when you do.

Source: Lifehack

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