Trying new things WITHIN your comfort zone
The poor comfort zone. Usually whenever it gets a mention, it’s because we’re being told we need to get out of it.
I regularly get out of mine as I try fifty-two new things each year, but there are plenty of things that I try which are well within it.
Did I learn anything or grow from trying new things within my comfort zone? I certainly think I did.
So in this post, I want to big-up the comfort zone.
There are plenty of articles and ample research about why and how we should try new experiences which see us take the leap and step out of it. On the whole I’d agree with them.
However, I’m going to share my thoughts on how trying things that are within your comfort zone can be a good thing and bring positive results, with some ideas on how you can do it too.
What is your comfort zone?
Judith M Bardwick, author of bestselling business book ‘Danger in the Comfort Zone’, described it as “a behavioral state where a person operates in an anxiety-neutral position”.
It’s that feeling of knowing your stuff, having confidence in your ability to do certain things, feeling relaxed, safe and at ease. Stress levels are low, and, as the name suggests, it feels comfortable. In some instances, we may be so comfortable that we do things on autopilot.
The behaviours and feelings within the comfort zone are likely to be fairly similar for most people. It’s the activities which will differ.
Some people completely thrive standing on stage in-front of a room full of strangers and delivering a presentation, whilst for other people it is excruciatingly fearful.
Some people may flourish achieving something on their own from start to finish, whilst for others, spending time in isolation can be terrifying.
Only you will know what activities fit within your comfort zone and the sorts of experiences which see you stepping out of it.
Comfort zones and trying new things
There are huge benefits to trying new things outside of our comfort zones, and personally I love doing things that I find a little bit scary. I know, I’m that weirdo, but it’s taken me time to become comfortable in that space.
However, I believe it doesn’t mean every new experience we try as adults should have our pulses racing, nerves heightened, or adrenaline increased in order for us to develop and grow.
In fact for some people, stepping out of their comfort zone is far too terrifying to even contemplate, never mind actually taking a tip toe over the edge.
Your comfort zone isn’t a permanent size.
I like to think our comfort zones are like a rubber band. They’re not a fixed size. They’re very stretchy and can expand. This does mean they can also contract.
There is often some sense of unease or uncertainty when we are learning something new or doing something for the first time. Even from that very first attempt, our comfort zone will shift. If we repeat that behaviour it starts to become easier, and our comfort zone grows to encompass it.
Repetition can expand your comfort zone.
If you’ve learnt to drive, the first time you sat behind the wheel probably felt quite nerve wracking and exciting. But, from that very first time you pressed the accelerator and moved the vehicle forwards, (or bunny hopped and stalled in my case), your comfort zone would have been adapting.
If you carried on with your driving lessons, and you passed your test, it’s likely that you now find driving very much within your comfort zone.
I used to feel incredibly anxious going into a room full of strangers and having to introduce myself. Through trying new things, I’ve repeatedly had to do this as I’ve tried new classes and workshops, and now I’m much more comfortable with those initial introductions.
Infrequency can shrink your comfort zone
If you don’t do something all that regularly, then your comfort zone could retract.
For example, I know of an older lady who used to travel by bus frequently when she was working. It was something she routinely did without having to think about it.
After retiring, she didn’t use public transport for several years. When a situation arose and she needed to catch a bus once again, she felt huge levels of anxiety that almost stopped her from travelling.
It’s reminds me of the phrase ‘to get back on the horse’. The longer the time to do something again, the harder it can become.
Push Vs Pull
If our comfort zone is flexible, and if we can expand it by stepping out of it, surely we can stretch it from within too?
Many articles suggest that we need to step out of our comfort zone. By doing this, we are pulling the boundary of our comfort zone from the outside as we do something new that can heighten our feelings of stress, anxiety or nerves. It almost forces the zone to grow.
However, what if we did something new from within our comfort zone that helps us to push the boundary and expand it by doing things that we feel comfortable with? Could it gently nudge the zone to grow?
Playing to win - Trying new things within your comfort zone
We all have days where we might need a confidence boost. Perhaps you’re experiencing feelings of imposter syndrome, maybe it’s the first day back at work after a holiday, or maybe you want to feel a sense of control – especially if you don’t feel like you have a handle on things in other parts of your life.
I think that trying something new within your comfort zone means you’re playing to win. You’ve got some solid foundations, you’re mostly at ease, the risk is low and the chance of doing well is high. Why not be kind to yourself, why not purposefully put the odds in your favour if it’s going to give you some motivation and can set you on an positive spiral?
There's always an opportunity to learn
As I’ve been trying 52 new things a year since 2018, I’ve done a whole host of things, just because they are things that I have never tried before.
Stand up comedy, cliff camping, holding a spider and a solo multi day hike were all pretty scary, and well outside of any of my feelings of comfort.
However, many of the new experiences I’ve had have been well within my comfort zone. This includes things such as visiting a cat cafe, making ice cream, having a go at dry stone walling, and trying embroidery. The activities that are within your comfort zone may well look different.
Whether it’s finding out the history of a new activity, gaining knowledge of a new technique or skill, or discovering something about yourself, I believe there’s always something to learn whenever you try something new, regardless of whether you are inside or outside of your comfort zone. You just need to keep an open mind.
Practice Failing Safely By Trying New Things Within Your Comfort Zone
Firstly, the word ‘fail’. It feels like such a loaded and heavy word, and we probably all interpret it slightly differently. In this instance, I’m meaning when things don’t quite turn out as expected, or something doesn’t go to plan.
When I’ve tried something within my comfort zone that hasn’t worked out, the feeling of failure is much less painful, but just as important.
We can’t be good at everything, we can’t expect to get things right all the time, life would be boring if that was the case wouldn’t it? However, if we give ourselves a safe space to get things wrong and make mistakes, and we find safe opportunities to practice ‘failing’ it could perhaps help us to feel easier about getting other things wrong as it builds our resilience and it becomes part of our comfort zone.
This in turn could help us to feel more confident, and if we feel more confident, we’re more likely to step further outside of our comfort zone in the future.
How to try new things within your comfort zone
There might be something you’re really comfortable with, let’s say it’s cooking.
There are lots of ways that you can do something new with cooking.
- What if you were to cook something that you have never cooked before?
- Perhaps you’re used to following a written recipe, so maybe you try following a video?
- Or maybe you’re used to following a recipe with images, so you find one without any pictures?
- Maybe it’s using an ingredient you’ve never used before?
- How about going to a cookery class and learning from somebody else?
- You could teach someone else one of your favourite recipes?
All of these should feel achievable. It’s stretching a skill you’re already comfortable with, but still attaining something you’ve not done before, which means there’s something an opportunity to learn and grow.
At work, you might feel really comfortable writing reports. Are there any ways that you can try something new?
- Maybe try something new within the next report you write?
- How about presenting the information in a slightly different way?
- Perhaps you could offer to write a report for someone else?
- Maybe you could share your skills by teaching or coaching someone else to write reports?
Why not have a think about which activities you do that are within your comfort zone? How can you find a way of bringing something new to it to give your comfort zone a nudge?
Keep Trying New Things
I definitely agree that really good things can happen outside of your comfort zone, but I think the comfort zone gets a bad press. There are certainly benefits to spending time in it.
I think the most important thing is to keep trying new things, and keep learning, whichever part of the zone you are in.
This is something I find I connect with as I feel that for a while now I have been staying in my comfort zone a little too much. I appreciated this post as it showed me ways to overcome that and broaden my horizons some more!
Thank you so much, and good luck with expanding your comfort zone! :o)
That’s an interesting take on trying new things and the comfort zone. But can someone really try something new that’s also challenging, while remaining within their comfort zone? I certainly agree that we need to change our perspective on failure, because it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Experiencing failure within your comfort zone is definitely going to help improve the relationship with the experience of failing. Very interesting post
I think that whilst trying something new within a comfort zone may not be challenging, it could still potentially nudge the comfort zone and encourage it to expand. It wouldn’t have such fast or obvious results as trying new things outside of the comfort zone, but perhaps sometimes that’s too big an ask?
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, I really appreciate your perspective.