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Out of your comfort zone free#

Even in the short term, a positively uncomfortable experience can help us brainstorm, see old problems in a new light, and tackle the challenges we face with new energy. Trying new things can make us reflect on our old ideas and where they clash with our new knowledge, and inspire us to learn more and challenge comfirmation bias, our tendency to only seek out information we already agree with.

This is a soft benefit, but it’s fairly common knowledge (and it’s easily reproducible) that seeking new experiences, learning new skills, and opening the door to new ideas inspire us and educate us in a way that little else does.

You’ll find it easier to brainstorm and harness your creativity.

“Productive discomfort,” as they call it, becomes more normal to you, and you’re willing to push farther before your performance falls off. This same NYT article explains that as you step out of your comfort zone, you’ll become accustomed to that state of optimal anxiety. Once you start stepping out of your comfort zone, it gets easier over time.

You’ll find it easier to push your boundaries in the future.

Learning to live outside your comfort zone when you choose to can prep you for life changes that force you out of it. 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. 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.

You’ll have an easier time dealing with new and unexpected changes.

Pushing your personal boundaries can help you hit your stride sooner, get more done, and find smarter ways to work. 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. We lose the drive and ambition to do more and learn new things. 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. Still, “increased performance” and “enhanced productivity” just sound like “do more stuff.” What do you really get when you’re willing to step outside of your comfort zone? Optimal anxiety is that place where your mental productivity and performance reach their peak.

Out of your comfort zone free#

What you get when you break free and try new things 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.

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. It’s a natural state that most people trend towards. You can understand why it’s so hard to kick your brain out of your comfort zone.Įven so, your comfort zone is neither a good or bad thing. It’s our natural tendency to return to an anxiety-neutral, comfortable state. However, pushing too hard can actually cause a negative result, and reinforce the feeling that challenging yourself is a bad idea. More than a few studies support the point. Anyone who’s ever pushed themselves to get to the next level or accomplish something knows that when you really challenge yourself, you can turn up amazing results. The idea of optimal anxiety isn’t anything new. Too much anxiety and we’re too stressed to be productive, and our performance drops off sharply. This space is called “Optimal Anxiety,” and it’s just outside our comfort zone. Dodson explained that a state of relative comfort created a steady level of performance In order to maximize performance, however, we need a state of relative anxiety-a space where our stress levels are slightly higher than normal. The idea of the comfort zone goes back to a classic experiment in psychology. You benefit in obvious ways: regular happiness, low anxiety, and reduced stress. Simply, your comfort zone is a behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk.