There are a million gazillion images on the internet about comfort zones and getting outside of them. After all, that’s where the magic happens, right?
Finding The Comfort Zone Sweet Spot
To a certain degree, I think the catch-phrase worthy phrases are true. Some things do get a better outcome if you get outside of your comfort zone. But where catch phrases fall short are in the nuance.
On my recent 6 day weekend, I took pushing my comfort zone too far. I tried to stay home and do nothing far more than was a good balance for me. In fact, it made me feel frustrated to the point where I almost wished I hadn’t taken extra days off of work. Yep, I wished (for some moments, not all) that I had a shorter long weekend. That does not sound like me.
Spending downtime wishing for work was a sign I had pushed too far. There was nothing to gain from going that far out of my comfort zone.
Instead, I found the sweet spot of having a slow morning, going out in the late morning, and while I was still “doing nothing”, I was avoiding the feelings of frustration I felt while pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone. It still achieved my goals of giving me actual downtime but it stopped me from wishing I didn’t have downtime.
Going beyond your comfort zone isn’t bad. At all. But you need to know what you are trying to achieve by going beyond it to know how far beyond it to go. Like many things, it’s not a black and white thing, there are massive areas of grey to consider.
Do you believe in being outside of your comfort zone? Have you found how far outside of it is your sweet spot?
I think comfort zones exists to be tested! I do like a slow start but sometimes an early one is a nice change.
I think it’s how often or extremely I need to test them that needs working on.
I love testing a comfort zone. That is where all the learning happens and changes occur. It can be scary but doing nothing is not an option for me anymore.
I think identifying when (or why) is important too.
I know that I learn and grow the most when I’m out of my comfort zone, but I still don’t really enjoy being there. Comfort should be my middle name!
I figure we can’t know what is too far unless we test it out. Agree that there is no black and white.
I think (like most things) finding the grey area that suits is the key.
Pushing comfort zones is a great idea. But like you, I am not very good at doing ‘nothing’! #teamIBOT
I don’t think I’ll ever be good at doing nothing!
I reckon it’s hard to grow and expand your talents without pushing outside of your comfort zone some times, , but yeah, there can be such a thing as pushing too far, lol!
It’s really hard to find the middle ground properly sometimes for me.