Comfort Zone: How We Can Step Beyond It

“Life begins at the end of your Comfort Zone. So if you`re feeling uncomfortable right now, know that the change taking place in your life is a beginning, not an ending.”

Neale Donald Walsch

First, what’s the meaning of comfort level or comfort zone?

Encarta Dictionary gives us an answer. 

It defines comfort zone as: “A set of physical or psychological circumstances in which somebody feels most at ease and free from physical discomfort or stress.”

As humans we like any arrangement or setup that can provide us with maximum safety and deepest calm. We derive comfort from a place or situation of ease and familiarity. 

Though it can sometimes be renewing to retreat to the haven of serenity after some significant accomplishments, yet taking a permanent residence at the zone of comfort is not the best way to live. It is an invitation to stagnation. 

The law of life is growth, so much so that even the most precious of gemstones needs to be continually polished to achieve and maintain its brightest luster. 

No one can find lasting joy within the constraining zone of short-term comfort. We find real fulfillment through meaningful adventure, new experiences and perpetual growth. 

So if we desire the next level of excitement, then we need to stretch ourselves beyond our current level of comfort. 

Now let’s review of a few tips we can use to do just that.

Tips of Expansion

Here are three tips we can use to expand our comfort zone and continually develop our mental and physical muscles.

1} Competition:

 

If we want to stretch beyond our limits, one of the best ways to do that is to get involved in a competition. 

You see, when we don’t engage in any challenge to grow—like an exam or a contest— we can easily be tempted to remain in the zone of mediocrity. 

Undoubtedly, competitions make us better. Even when we lose, our muscles still get stretched and we become stronger as a result.

2} Atomic Moves:

It's natural for us to not want to change because frankly, change is hard; so, to make it as easy as possible, we need to break our big goals down into their atomic components.

Then, we focus on one atomic step at a time. This steady approach will give us momentum to stick with pursuing our goals until we achieve the results we can be proud of.

3} Progress:

The point here is to seek comfort in progress. By this, I mean we should make progress the goal—not ease. 

We should see change from the lens of greater rewards it can bring into our lives and see our current zone of comfort for its apparent drawbacks. 

We need to realize that progress is what will take us away from the zone of limitations to the zone of possibilities. The zone of possibilities is what I call ‘the zone of growth.’

We should always strive for growth despite the initial discomfort that we may feel because that is where new life begins; progress is expansive and expansion comes from growth.

In conclusion, some people would rather die within the zones of mediocrity than dare to explore the larger world of unlimited possibilities that lie beyond it. But this is not for us. 

You and I need to resolve to fulfill our potential, which is all about constant and never ending improvements in essential areas of our lives. 

Bear in mind that good life is not about continuous comfort; good life is about continuous growth, continuous contribution and continuous advancement.