Expand Your Comfort Zone

A lot of self-help books and sites talk about the comfort zone and how you need to step out of it. Like any coaching advice, it’s too simplistic without taking into account personal style and disposition. My main issue is with the broad statement that change takes a lot of effort and mental energy.

But doesn’t it? It depends. When it comes down it, there are two types of people, those who score high on Openness and those who score low on Openness of the Big Five Personality Measure. Those who score low generally love their routine. They get up at X:00 and go to bed at Y:00 and do laundry on Wednesdays and catch up on their DVRs on Sundays. Just like some people could never imagine moving out of their hometown or giving up their cushy corporate gig. Others can’t function that way. They are naturally curious, seek out new experiences, prefer complexity, and they “step out of their comfort zone” quite often. They are not the ones that need the tips on how to expand their comfort zone. That’s their fun. If anything, they just need focus.

Regardless of the group you fall into, expanding your comfort zone just for the sake of expanding your comfort zone is a waste of time. What are you trying to accomplish? How will you know if you have succeeded?

Instead, think about what you want. What you really really really want. And then think about what you need to do to get that. Create action items, then start doing. Some things will be easier to accomplish than others, but that’s the point. It all gets easier eventually. It takes everyone some time to get over the mental barrier of expanding boundaries, especially boundaries that have strong emotional ties. The difference is that some people cross that hurdle within 10 seconds and others hit a wall that lasts a lifetime.

Blogging is out of my comfort zone. At least today. But that’s what I do. A few weeks from now it’ll be like nothing. In contrast, some people will never blog. Which one are you?