#Out of your comfort zone how to#

And then you learn something about yourself: that, most likely, you’re better at this than you envisioned. Learning is the catalyst for taking something outside your comfort zone and becoming more comfortable, competent and confident about it.”Īnd, according to Andy Molinsky, being able to embrace a challenging situation instead of trying to avoid it at all costs provides two great benefits: “ You usually learn two things when you step out of your comfort zone: first, that the thing you feared was not as fearful as you thought. The problem with avoidance is that it provides relief, but it does not allow us to learn from new experiences. Part of the problem with things inside of the ‘stretch zone’ is that we tend to avoid these things (this is relevant for companies as much as for individuals). The good news is that there are ways to push our limits further: “ What I’ve learned from working with companies and various people is that you can learn and use specific tools and strategies to successfully step out of your comfort zone. What part do culture, education and our environment play in our aversion to certain experiences?Īnd, more specifically, can we work on widening our own comfort zones? For Andy Molinsky, our different cultures, as well as our environments as children and as adults, play a role in our sense of comfort or discomfort. Now that we have a better idea of the emotion behind the concept of the comfort zone, we may wonder what influences our respective thresholds.

#Out of your comfort zone how to#

You will need to take very small steps to lower your level of anxiety.” How to stretch your comfort zone It will not be a linear process to bring these experiences from the terror zone to the comfort zone. Levels of anxiety will be high, and you will feel very far from your natural level of self-efficacy. In this zone, it will take you way more time to get acquainted with the experiences within. Then comes the third bucket or zone: the terror one.

In the second bucket, you will find your ‘stretch and learning zone’: levels of anxiety will be higher and you will have less mastery of the elements.

Some people describe getting out of their comfort zone with metaphors such as walking a tightrope, jumping in a cold pool, or wearing shoes that are not comfortable for you.įor every individual, however, there may be a few different stages or “ three buckets” of experiences that either find us at ease or literally terrified, as Andy Molinsky describes: “ When inside of your comfort zone, you will feel low levels of anxiety, and benefit from high competences and a certain level of mastery. It’s quite the same for companies and teams: when they engage with something outside their regular, typical activities, it will generate uncertainty, which is associated with anxiety.”Ĭomfort zones are a metaphor. Under this threshold, you’re in your comfort zone, but if you feel anxious about doing something, then you’re outside of it. The comfort zone describes a threshold of anxiety. Some people describe getting out of their comfort zones with metaphors such as walking a tightrope, jumping in a cold pool, or wearing shoes that are not comfortable for you. What is the comfort zone, exactly?īut, first of all, how can we define someone’s comfort zone? Or, in other words, how do people know they are trespassing the limit between what feels familiar and mastered, and the rather unknown?Īs Andy Molinsky explained to us: “ Comfort zones are a metaphor. But what about our aversion to discomfort?Īndy Molinskyhas kindly agreed to give us a few hints on how each and every one of us, and companies and teams as well, can embrace stepping out of the comfort zone. With his best-selling book Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence, Andy Molinsky not only provides inspiring examples of people who dared to step out of their comfort zones, but he also demonstrates anyone can do it.Īs individuals, some of us are relatively risk-aversive when others are looking for that kick of adrenaline. When it comes to stepping out of one’s comfort zone, Andy Molinsky is the expert we need.