Episode 44: Comfort Zone with Dr. Andrea Wilkinson
Happy New Year!!
It is officially 2020!! I’m so excited for this new year. I have so many goals and ambitions that I want to accomplish. As a business owner the list is ever growing, but I also have a lot of personal aspirations as well. But, I don’t want to spend this first episode of 2020 talking about new year’s resolutions. I don’t believe in the idea of deciding to make all sorts of changes on a January 1st – as if this dates holds some sort of magical ability to dampen all of your limiting beliefs and negative mindset to make way for the new you. This doesn’t happen. Change is hard and success isn’t a straight line. You will win and lose. You will succeed sometime and fail others, but true change requires that you make the decision to keep going – even when it gets hard. True change takes time and it takes a lot of patience with yourself. This is why I like starting my “new year goals” 90 days before the end of the year. 90 days is ample time to try and fail and then get back up and try again. We’re not aiming for perfection here. We’re just aiming for improvement.
So, on this first episode of 2020, I want to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. Whatever it is that you are hoping and wishing to accomplish in 2020 know that it will require a lot of courage and you are going to have to be willing to step out of your routine and try something new.
If you want to live a healthier life – you have to decide to do things differently than you have in the past. You have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone.
What is a “Comfort Zone”?
Your comfort zone is where you feel all cozy and relaxed. Tasks completed within your comfort zone are done easily and with minimal effort - there is no challenge. You feel familiar with the situation and are confident in your abilities to navigate through it. For example, lifting weights in your comfort zone would not exert your energy. The weight would be easily to lift without strain or physical exertion. But, lifting weights outside of your comfort zone would be a challenge and would require a substantial amount of effort. Being outside of your comfort zone is a place where your mind and/or body feel stretched to the limits. So, when lifting weights, it can be measured by how much your muscles ached when lifting and how many repetitions you could do without feeling fatigued or losing proper format. If you are doing a task that demands brain power, being outside of your comfort zone can be measured by the amount of sustained effort is required to accomplish the task. It is the amount your brain “sweats” during an activity. Essentially, getting out of your comfort zone means pushing yourself ever so slightly beyond your level of capabilities. There is a sweet spot here. You shouldn’t set your goals too high – or too far outside of our comfort zone, because it the task is too hard (e.g., lift 50 lbs weights) you will not be able to accomplish it. You still want to be able to do the task, but you don’t want it to be easy.
Inverted-U Theory of Performance
The inverted-U Theory of performance was first proposed in 1908. The inverted-U describes the relationship between effort and performance. When you are in your comfort zone and have to exert minimal effort, performance is low – but, this is also true when you have to exert a substantial amount of effort. In this case, when a task is too hard or too far outside of your comfort zone, performance also suffers – because it is too difficult and therefore cannot be accomplished. When you are seeking ways to challenge yourself it is wise to set the goals just on the cusp of your comfort zone. This is where some effort is required (but not too much or too little) is where performance is at its peak. So, in order for us to reach our peak performance, we need to put a little bit of pressure on ourselves, we need to get a little bit uncomfortable, we need to feel a little bit intimidated or a little bit scared at first. But you don’t want to push yourself too hard – because if you go too far outside of your comfort zone, you may not succeed at whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish. If you set your goals too high and are thus unable to accomplish them, this may foster feelings of failure or feelings of not being good enough. Ultimately, this kind of negative thinking can talk you out of wanting to challenge yourself in the first place.
Seeking Comfort is your Default
Humans are hardwired to want to stay away from things that cause us pain and to seek out things that give us pleasure. In this way your default is to want to be stay safe and cozy in your comfort zone. You don’t want to feel the discomfort of attempting something that is beyond your current level of capacity or understanding. You don’t want to risk the possibility of failure. The moment taking on a new task gets challenging, your brain perceives the extra effort required to complete the task as “painful” and your default mode urges you to give up and do something more pleasurable (do something INSIDE your comfort zone). But, the truth is - “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” - Neale Donald Walsch. The only way to grow is to get uncomfortable, and when you really challenge yourself – you can create amazing results.
Your “Comfort Zone” is Unique
Your comfort zone is like a security blanked. Within your comfort zone exists all of the activities and behaviours that you do on a routine basis, that come naturally and are not perceived as “difficult”. The task is low stress and the outcome is predictable.
Your “comfort zone” is uniquely yours
We all have different abilities
We all have different interests and hobbies
We all have different mobility levels
We all have different physical fitness levels
Your “target” edge of your discomfort is someone else’s paralysis.
Leaving your comfort zone means increased risk and a willingness to accept uncertainty (the outcomes are no longer predictable), and it also means that you need to push past your default state and any mental blocks that are tell you to stay where you are; stay where everything is comfortable and cozy.
Stepping out of your comfort zone allows you to learn new things, develop new skills and abilities and embrace new experiences.
To evolve and become the best version of you, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You have to train your “discomfort muscle,” so that it gets stronger and more resilient. Now, I am not suggesting that you live in a perpetual state of discomfort. Comfort and discomfort are both important. The problem arises when people are just complacent with their current situation – even when they don’t LIKE - for many people being in a state of “dislike” is better than the unknown. So, if you are listening to this and are struggling with something or perhaps you want more out of life, I want to encourage you to fight the instinct to accept comfort and instead choose something that is in alignment with your higher self.
Comfort Zone Tips
Identify what you want to learn or how you want to evolve over the next year. Write your ideas down for 5 minutes straight. Don’t censor your words, just let them flow out of you. When you are done brain dumping all of your ideas, review the list and pick the top 3 that you want to focus on for this year. Then identify which one you want to tackle first and get to work.
Take small steps. Remember the inverted U model that I talked about earlier. You don’t want to set your goals so high that you paralyze yourself with fear. It is about stepping ever so slightly outside of your comfort zone. Once you achieve your goal, take some time to acknowledge your progress and then set another goal that is just outside of your NEW comfort zone”.
Take it slow and cultivate a new habit of pushing boundaries and getting outside of your comfort zone.
Know that comfort and discomfort are fluid. What was uncomfortable today will be comfortable in a year from now if you consistently work at it.
Conclusion
I encourage you to approach this new year with a willingness to get outside of your comfort zone and to seek out challenges and complexity that will ultimately help push you into a better and more evolved version of yourself, and once you reach that level – keep pushing!