Routines can be stable and comforting, but they can also turn stale and confining over time. All those inspirational messages telling you to break out of your comfort zone aren’t just trying to sell you bungee cords. Doing something new and potentially frightening helps you from burning out and is good for your soul. Still, it’s pretty hard to shake yourself out of a routine.
Your comfort zone is a behavioral space where your activities and behaviors fit a routine and pattern that minimizes stress and risk. It provides a state of mental security. You benefit in obvious ways: regular happiness, low anxiety, and reduced stress.
Your comfort zone is neither a good nor a 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.
What do you really get when you’re willing to step outside of your comfort zone?
1. You’ll be more productive. Comfort kills productivity
2. You’ll have an easier time dealing with new and unexpected changes.
3. 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.
4. You’ll find it easier to brainstorm and harness your creativity.
The last-named benefit is fairly common knowledge, 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.
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 confirmations, our tendency to only seek out the information we already agree with. 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.
Though it’s not easy to try. Do everyday things differently. Take your time making decisions. Trust yourself and make snap decisions. Do it in small steps.
Take it slow, and make stretching your boundaries a habit of its own