What it Means to Get Out of The Comfort Zone

Many times we read articles of how to get out of the comfort zone and many other times we hear people talking about how to jump out of the comfort zone but do we really know what it means to get out of the comfort zone.

Literally, the comfort zone can be referred to as a state of mind or a state of being where a human is literally lazy and is in a state of comfort which doesn’t support any productivity of any sort.

Google defines a comfort zone as ‘a place or situation where one feels safe or at ease and without stress.’ and Wikipedia defines a comfort zone as ‘a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress,’ however wikipedia adds that “in this zone, a steady level of performance is possible.” However I beg to stress that in this zone, is a miniature level of performance is possible.

I with great confidence side with Bardwick when he refers to a comfort zone as a behavioral state where a person operates in an anxiety neutral position.

Getting out of the comfort zone means achieving goals, and most of all attaining success. Stepping out of a comfort zone according to wikipedia raises anxiety and generates a stress response, this results in an enhanced level of concentration and focus.

I will try to be as honest as possible. Getting out of the comfort zone literally means doing the things you are not comfortable doing, doing things that probably encroach on private space and time, like waking up early so as to complete tasks or side lining the boys night out so as to get a deliverable through.

Stepping out of one’s comfort zone can be a really daunting task that it might be compared to quitting cigarettes or alcohol. Yes, to some extent getting out of the comfort zone involves withdraw effects which include stress.

However, getting out of the comfort zone, like quitting any addiction is all a personal choice and like any other addictions, getting out of the comfort zone improves personal performance at work and in life, but remember, it all is just a choice. Choices define the life we live today or tomorrow.

To achieve extra performance, we are encourage to push ourselves, to be our own motivation, to be our own investment and most of all to live a full life full of struggle as the Bible quotes “by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return,” in Genesis 3:19.

Well as the comfort zone reduces risk, we all know that the less the risk the lower/less the profits, the less the performance, and often times, this doesn’t work for us. It’s time for us to get out of the comfort zone, it’s time to quit blaming fate, God and the ancestors, we are to blame for our own poor performance.