In everyday life, a person regularly encounters the fact that in order to achieve a goal, one must do something that one has never had to resort to before. Most often, the prospect of something new, unknown frightens and makes you give up. Some people can't speak in public, others refuse to start conversations with strangers. Everyone’s comfort zone level is different, but most are united by their reluctance to leave its boundaries. Read about how to get out of your comfort zone and what it is.

What is a comfort zone?

A comfort zone is a psychological space in which a person experiences a sense of security based on the ability to accurately predict the development of certain events.

The literary understanding of this term depends on the context, and in psychotherapy, the comfort zone is most often understood as disguised discomfort. For example, a comfort zone may arise as a result of taking tranquilizers or sedatives and painkillers. On the one hand, this is good, since the drugs have reduced the level. However, in this way, if you base all therapy only on symptom-relieving drugs, you can achieve the opposite of the expected result. Sooner or later, the usual remedies cease to have a beneficial effect, and then a person may find out that he has triggered some kind of disease.

Sometimes the comfort zone is also understood as a complex of all those tricks that people use in order to stop their development at some level, to create conditions in order to protect themselves from signs of unmet needs.

Such phenomena require the most delicate approach. It cannot be said unequivocally that if someone has a comfort zone to which they strive, in which they feel confident and prosperous, then this is definitely a bad state, and they need to get out of it.

Everyone makes the decision about how to relate to certain experiences and the conditions associated with them. You just need to remember that in this world everything is relative, and subjective assessments are not always correct.

When your comfort zone becomes harmful...

There are a number of criteria that can clearly and explicitly indicate that a personal comfort zone has more negative than positive features.

1. A feeling of comfort is associated with an actual or just emerging dependence on something. A person feels good only when he drinks alcohol. He himself may sincerely believe that the main thing is not in them, but in conversations with friends that accompany the libation. But this is for the time being, and then it will no longer be possible to achieve inner comfort without alcohol. The result is quite clear and logical, and the problem will move to the level of drug addiction.
2. It is enough to leave a certain place associated with psychological comfort, as a person experiences acute distress. For example, an unpleasant feeling, which has its own mental and physical forms of expression, hits immediately as soon as someone leaves their apartment.
3. A subjective feeling of being drawn into some kind of swamp, but the criteria for diagnosing depression are not traced. Most often, people are dissatisfied with something, but find it difficult to explain what exactly. Nothing pleases you, anxiety arises, it is difficult to relax and have fun. This means that the feeling of satisfaction has replaced its potential.

They usually say that the comfort zone is a purely psychological phenomenon that has no connection with a soft chair, floor lamp and pleasant music. This is only partly true, since everything that happens inside is certainly connected with the individual’s environment, and each person tends to strive for novelty. This desire gives rise to internal conflict, and at its core is the inability to obtain satisfaction from monotony. And the point here is not that being in a psychological comfort zone is bad in itself, but that sooner or later the limits will be exhausted. The place and behavior that previously gave a sense of harmony will turn into a burden, a swamp that will begin to drag in and cause suffering.

The comfort zone also has one more pitfall. It provokes the problem of deficiency of the ability to desire. This condition is expressed in the fact that people do not know what they want and experience difficulties in forming specific and clear goals that need to be achieved.

How to get out of your comfort zone if it has become a burden?

The easiest way to get out of this state is to suddenly introduce something sharp and bright into your life, to create conditions that will force you to look at life differently. This could be a camping trip with tents, practicing martial arts, a passion for street art, and everything that goes beyond the usual framework of vegetating in the bourgeois world, with its exclusively material and explainable values. Much here depends not on what exactly the person will do, but on his mood.

All modern methods of psychotherapy can be viewed in the same vein. Of great importance in them is the request, which can be called the goal and methodology for its implementation. It is important that the goal is specific, indicating the essence and significance of the effort.

A query like the title of this article has no significant perspective. It needs to be modified so that it addresses a specific problem that can be solved. It should be associated with something that allows you to abstract from searching for black cats in a dark room, but be focused on something meaningful that can captivate and change your priorities. It could be:

• receiving additional education;
• choosing a career growth strategy;
• practical search for your spiritual calling...

This list should not be considered as intended only for purposeful and ambitious young people. It may include searching for a soul mate and even renovating an apartment. The main thing is that at the current moment in time, at this part of your life’s path, the request should be truly relevant.

These 10 tips will help anyone who is ready to push their limits.

Make changes to your daily routine

No one is saying that having a familiar daily routine is bad. But, nevertheless, if a person’s comfort zone has fallen in love with him very much, and it is not possible to decisively break out of it, this is the best option to start. Swap something, make adjustments, add something that has been in the plans for so long. Let the usual daily routine cease to be so.

Make new acquaintances

With a housemate, a classmate, or an unfamiliar girl in the library or on the street. Yes, you can still make acquaintances or even friends this way. Having tried this, a person definitely has nothing to lose.

Sign up for new classes

As a rule, at such events there are a sufficient number of people united by common interests, goals or worldviews. Letting something like this into your life means expanding both your range of knowledge and interests, as well as your comfort zone.

Decide on a short trip

The neighboring city, or further. As far as free time and finances allow. The most important thing is not to make clear plans. Let such a short trip be a kind of improvisation. You can see local parks, beautiful places, or again make some one-time acquaintances. Taking a day or half a day to walk around unfamiliar places definitely won’t be a bad decision.

Increase the amount of physical activity

If you didn’t have it at all before, then it’s worth signing up for a gym or some classes. If a person is already passionate about sports, then it’s time to increase the load on your body. Sport is both health and good appearance, so in this way you can combine business with pleasure.

Cook something new

The Internet, as well as cookbooks, are full of unusual recipes that you have never tried before. If everything is really bad with your culinary skills, you can stop, for example, at salads. Even among some simple dishes you can find something exotic for your dinner.

Determine a specific goal for the near future

You should define a goal for yourself, which cannot be achieved without changing your usual way of life. Be it the inner world, or something in the surrounding reality. It’s worth thinking about what you’ve been thinking about for a long time and imagining how this can be achieved. However, thoughts alone are not enough. You need to determine for yourself a time period during which the goal will definitely be achieved, and make a promise to yourself about this.

Be interested in new things

It’s worth choosing an area that interests you and starting to delve into its study. You can search for information both on the Internet and in books (where there may be some things that cannot now be found on the Internet). If a person does only what he is used to and what he likes at a particular moment, he will remain standing in one place. Finding and discovering new things is really important.

Try to improve your hobby skills

Everyone should have at least one hobby that bears fruit in the form of visible results and improved skill. It’s worth taking this hobby to the next level. An artist can try his hand at working with other instruments, a musician can try an unusual style or genre. In any case, expanding your comfort zone should also affect the results of your hobbies.

Now you can calmly go and gradually begin to change your life. Sooner or later this has to be done and the sooner, the easier it is. Living your whole life in one place under the same conditions may seem comfortable to some, but this is just an illusion. Interesting fact: no one regrets after expanding the boundaries of their usual comfort.

In this article we will talk about what is comfort zone. Surely, you have heard this term many times, and perhaps read publications and books on this topic. If so, then you probably know that you definitely need to get out of your comfort zone in order to achieve some results. We'll tell you how to make this way easier for yourself, and also reveal the essence of the concept of “personal comfort zone”.

In fact, the concept discussed in the article has very little to do with everyday comfort (apartment, car, delicious food, good clothes, and so on). In psychology, the term “comfort zone” does not mean everyday life. This is a personal comfort zone, that is, internal boundaries in which a person feels stable, comfortable and safe. That is, the psychological comfort zone is not the one where it is comfortable, but the one where it is familiar and where we feel safe. This is where its main paradox lies. Let's show how it works with a couple of examples.

Uncomfortable, but familiar, or How the comfort zone works

It also happens that people experience discomfort if they suddenly start earning good money (themselves or their significant other) or, for example, receive an inheritance. The fact is that they have been since childhood
a habit of poverty has been instilled. Let's say my parents were convinced that big money could only be earned dishonestly. This point of view is fixed in the child on a subconscious level., and poverty becomes his comfort zone.

Many people are now talking about the comfort zone and getting out of it.

This concept can also be encountered in the works of popular psychological theorists, such as Brian Tracy, Meg Jay, and in social network communities dedicated to personal growth or positioning themselves as such, and in random dialogues with people who are sometimes more than far from psychology.

And many people who come into contact with this concept strive to find out how to get out of their comfort zone, whether it’s worth going out at all - what if there are evil wolves or something worse - and how exactly this can help them.

Why keep a personal diary? Find out about this from ours.

What it is?

Comfort zone- this is a conditional zone of a person’s living space, in which he feels familiar, where he knows everything and feels to one degree or another.

In most cases, the definition of “comfort zone” means precisely a comfort zone: a person has reached certain stability in life, he has an income that suits him, his life flows smoothly and predictably, and there is no particular need to change anything in it.

Therefore, his personal development stops, he's even deteriorating to some extent. The feeling of comfort and tranquility has a negative effect on his personality, and in order to change something, it is necessary to make an effort and go beyond the standard course of life.

But, contrary to many statements, the comfort zone is not always associated with something purely positive, comfortable and, for this reason, causing difficulties in the development process of each individual person.

For example, a woman who is dissatisfied with her relationship with her husband and is busy with monotonous, boring activities may understand that something needs to be changed. At the same time she has I don't have the courage to start these changes.

Her usual area of ​​life is a comfort zone(although it’s a little difficult to call her downright comfortable), and in order to change something, she needs to leave this area: discuss the situation with her husband, change her job or add some visible variety to it, acquire new skills.

Some people who have nothing to do with psychology and psychiatry, but who strive to make their opinions important to others, may learn several terms from popular articles, including the definition of “comfort zone,” and use them without fully understanding the essence of many things.

For example, there are situations when people find out that their friends or acquaintances have some other mental illness.

And they decide that their valuable opinion is very important for a person, so they tell him: “You need to get out of your comfort zone - and everything will become very good, this depression of yours will pass, you just need to get a new job and start learning Japanese.”

And for a person to even make the bed - feat. And he needs a psychotherapist and not popular books on how to achieve the unattainable.

The comfort zone appears at the moment when a person gets used to what surrounds him, gets used to a certain daily routine, certain interests and activities.

The longer he stays in this familiar area, the more difficult it is for him to change something in his life structure.

Personal space in communication

There is also a comfort zone in communication.

She is also called personal space.

This comfort zone when communicating is different for each person, but in general it means the area that is within 20-40 centimeters from the human body and face.

It is important for people who are involved in areas associated with close social interaction that require entering personal space (for example, nurses, carers, educators) to be able to find a common language with a person so that he feels comfortable even when his comfort zone is invaded.

Types of personal space:

If a person feels affection for another person and understands that he is ready to communicate with him even closely, this means that he feels strong sympathy for him, and communication may well develop into something more.

What is sublimation in psychology? find out right now.

The danger of being in it

The main dangers of staying in the comfort zone:

You will find empathic listening on our website.

Why do you need to go outside the box?

The main reasons for leaving your comfort zone:

Leaving your comfort zone or expanding its boundaries is the only path that leads to development.

A familiar environment inhibits a person’s desire to develop, impairs his abilities and ultimately leads to degradation.

How to get out of it?

To get out of your comfort zone, you must first force yourself to do it, and this is not so easy for a person who has lived for a long time in a familiar, albeit not always pleasant, rhythm of life.

Advice for those who are trying to push themselves out of their comfort zone or have already begun to gradually move towards change:

1. Recognize the need for change. Set yourself a clear thought: my life needs to change because there are reasons for this. Try to restrain the thoughts associated with the fact that nothing will work out and that the current situation is completely okay. Write a list of what you would like to change, analyze the situation and come up with rough plans.
2. Remember that leaving your comfort zone is not always a furious leap. All people have different life circumstances and different mental and physical health conditions. In addition, the thought of doing something very difficult suddenly and quickly can make you afraid of the very thought of it and retreat.

   Therefore, remember: even tiny steps towards change are important, because in any case they lead to development.

   Make step-by-step plans, break tasks into pieces, try to rest.

3. Praise yourself often. People often hesitate to praise themselves and admit to themselves that they are great. After all, if you think about it, you could have done more, come up with something more interesting, and gone faster. And in general, that Vasya over there, perhaps, deserves much more to be praised. But in fact, every step towards positive changes is worth praise because it brings you closer to your goal.

Exercises to help you get out of your comfort zone:

Also, determine for yourself a certain number of goals that are extremely important to you and gradually move towards them. Activity planning can help with this.

Many people, not without reason, believe that the desire for stability and tranquility is good goal. But it is important to understand that stability is not always a blessing and for development it is necessary to make efforts as often as possible.

How to get out of your comfort zone? Psychologist's opinion:

Greetings, friends! Imagine an ordinary situation. A person lives in peace, goes to a decent job, after which a beautiful wife and healthy children are waiting for him at home. On weekends he spends time with friends or lies peacefully on the sofa; in the summer he can afford to take his family to the sea for a week or two. He had a stormy youth, and a prosperous old age awaits him. In general, everything is fine. But psychologists and personal growth coaches unanimously insist that he urgently needs to leave his comfort zone. Why do this if it is so comfortable? Why disrupt the idyll of a planned, safe life? In fact, there are reasons for this. Today we will talk about how to get out of your comfort zone, why to do it, and what a personal comfort zone is in general.

What is a comfort zone

Let's start, as usual, with Wikipedia:

Comfort zone is an area of ​​living space in which a person feels confident and safe. However, such comfort can be dangerous and deceptive, because a person stops developing and endures inconvenience for the sake of stability.

And now in your own words. The desire for comfort is a natural and natural phenomenon. Each of us subconsciously strives for security and chooses the path of least resistance, isn’t it?

In other words, a comfort zone is a state when you are surrounded only by what is for you habitually, and you only do what you know how to do it well. Because of this, each day can be similar to the previous one, like Groundhog Day. You know exactly how it will go, because you have lived the same days hundreds (or thousands) of times. But you feel comfortable and relaxed, as if “at ease.”

Constantly being inside your comfort zone can be called living on minimum wage. This is a psychological state in which you need to make a minimum of effort to lead a calm lifestyle. It might all come down to you just being meet your needs.

Remember the fat guys from the cartoon "Wally"? This is a great example of living inside your comfort zone. They closed themselves off in it so much that there was no need to even walk on foot. In our lives, this means successful degradation and an inability to challenge ourselves:

• Why look for a better job if I'm used to enduring this one?
• Why get rid of excess weight if I'm used to telling everyone that I have wide bones?
• Why study programming if I'm used to spending my free time in a bar?
• Why do anything at all if it will do?

Each person's comfort zone is different. For example, for a skydiver, falling out of an airplane every day is a common occurrence. But the thought of raising children can cause fear and the question “why?”

Trying something new means leaving your comfort zone, getting used to something new means expanding your comfort zone, but more on that later. First, let's find out the reasons why you need to do this.

Why you need to leave your comfort zone, 3 reasons

The advantage of being inside your comfort zone is that you know that nothing out of the ordinary will happen. The downside is the same - nothing will happen, and you know it.

I will list a few names. Think about what unites them?

• Elon Musk (where would we be without him?);
• Jim carrey;
• Stephen King;
• Sylvester Stallone;
• Arnold Schwarzenegger;
• Elvis Presley;
• Oprah Winfrey;
• Walt Disney;
• Bill Gates;
• Steve Jobs;
• Albert Einstein;
• Thomas Edison;
• Steven Spielberg;
• Henry Ford;
• Michael Jordan;
• (the list could go on, I just wanted it to be long enough).

Besides the fact that you have heard the name of each of them at least once, they all come from the “lower classes.” They didn't have a ticket to world fame in the form of a rich dad or a lucky coincidence. At one time, they all left their comfort zone and started working hard. And here's what it's all about:

Difficulties and negative incidents lead to positive results.

There is another option for the development of events. What if everyone on this list asked themselves “why?” and decided to just move on with your usual normal life? You would just read a list of random unknown names.

Three reasons why you need to step out of your comfort zone:

1. The comfort zone is not where it is comfortable, but where it is familiar and safe. In other words, you can frankly suffer from being in your comfort zone, but still refuse to leave it because of your habit of living this way.
2. Getting out of your comfort zone is the only way to develop. Arnold Schwarzenegger said that in order for muscles to develop, they need to be constantly shocked. The same workout will no longer bring results over time, as the muscles adapt to it. The same applies to other aspects of life: to develop, you need to break your usual (comfortable) plan of action.
3. Stepping out of your comfort zone will make you happier. This is a continuation of the previous point. Recent psychological research has shown that the primary ingredient for a happy life is progress. Psychologist Shawn Achor describes happiness as the joy you feel as you move toward your potential.

How to get out of your comfort zone, 3 steps

If you want to have something you've never had, start doing something you've never done. (Richard Bach)

Usually what we dream about is outside our comfort zone. And we look at these things from the outside, sitting comfortably, like in a movie theater. Let's finally figure out how to get out of your comfort zone and start doing something that is unusual for you.

3 steps to get out of your comfort zone:

1. Setting goals;
2. First steps into the unknown;
3. Expanding the boundaries of your comfort zone.

And now in more detail about each of them.

Step 1. Setting goals

After realizing that you are stuck in your comfort zone (if that is the case), you need to set goals. Write down what you want to do or achieve. Then write down the reasons or fears that keep you from taking action.

For example, losing weight is a great goal, but many people don’t even try. Why:

• - I don’t know how to count calories, I love McDonald’s too much, I’ll suddenly lose it;
• running in the morning - it’s hard to wake up, it’s cold to run in winter, but I won’t make it to the track;
• the gym - there are only jocks there, everyone will laugh at me;
• friends - no one will go jogging with me, they invite me to McDonald’s again, others live with excess weight and do not worry.

Taken together, these reasons can lead to the question “why?” But once you look at them individually, these reasons no longer seem like such a global obstacle. No one has ever died without McDonald's, just like running in the morning (probably). Regular training in the gym, on the contrary, will earn you respect, and friends can join you, appreciating your zeal and seeing the results.

Step 2. First steps into the unknown

Start small. Do something you don't usually do:

• if you want to lose weight, learn to count calories and control your diet;
• if you want to change a job that you have hated for the last 10 years, look through interesting vacancies and sign up for an interview;
• if you want to master a programming language, sign up for courses and start learning it, now there is a ton of this stuff on the Internet;
• if you want to blog, put it first, don’t put work aside at the first urge to turn on a TV series or go to a bar with friends (yes, this is about me).

With every step outside your comfort zone, you will understand more and more clearly that it is not killing you, but on the contrary - everything is working out for you! This will calm you down, and the next step will be much easier to take. You will begin to get used to the fact that doing things that are unusual for you is possible and doable.

The boundaries of your comfort zone will expand along with your actions. And soon what just recently caused you fear will become familiar to you.

Step 3. Expanding the boundaries of your comfort zone

I found a great article by Matt Pryor on the RedBull website about getting out of your comfort zone and pushing its boundaries. Here's what he writes:

As you challenge yourself more and more, you will eventually reach a point where nothing bothers you too much. You will still have a healthy respect for fear. But you will have so much experience and confidence that you will feel comfortable in almost all situations. Adventures, big or small, are a great way to learn several life lessons and experiences in a very short period of time, hence my addiction to them.

• Start saying “yes” in situations in which you usually say “no.” Especially if you feel like you have to agree, or you just would like to, but are afraid.
• Not everything is as thorough as usual. Have fun with everything happening on the fly.
• When you have a great hot shower, suddenly switch it to the coldest setting. Let it be your choice.
• Change your route to work, college or school. Make ordinary things more interesting.
• Embrace the unknown and uncertainty.
• Surround yourself with people who are constantly growing, experimenting, and pushing you forward. Learn from them. Sometimes simple observation is enough to make changes in your life.
• Think of yourself as a river. The river does not stop when it encounters obstacles. It spreads out in different branches, sometimes has whirlpools, but ultimately gets to its destination.

Bottom line

Leaving your comfort zone can be compared to preparing to jump into cool water. You know that it will be cool later, but you just can’t muster up the courage and avoid the cold splashes. But once you jump into the water, you no longer understand why you waited so long.

Life begins where your comfort zone ends. It's simple: to get out of your comfort zone and feel the results, you need to start doing things that are unusual for you.

I decided to write this post about the comfort zone after I caught myself thinking that I often get stuck in it. This is also a thankless job that you are reluctant to change due to habit. And a lifestyle in which I only think about future achievements, but remain in place and waste time on nonsense.

Friends, what do you think about this? Are you trying to expand your comfort zone, what methods do you use? Write in the comments, it will be interesting to read!

In order not to miss my next articles, get out of your comfort zone and subscribe to blog updates by email!

See you again! Your Alexander Gorokhov :)

Books on how to get out of your comfort zone

• "Get out of your comfort zone. Change your life. 21 methods to increase personal effectiveness", Brian Tracy;
• "Get started. Punch fear in the face, stop being “normal” and do something worthwhile.", John Acuff.

A comfort zone is a certain area of ​​a person’s psychological and living space, characterized by feelings of familiarity and security, preservation of cause-and-effect relationships and stable confidence in the future. The personal comfort zone can have rigid boundaries or fairly flexible boundaries, which is determined by the type of nervous system and the characteristics of a person’s interaction with reality.

The personal comfort zone has no connection with external comfort provided by the material world; it is an internal concept, a kind of framework for where a person feels safety. For some, gilding on the walls and a salad for a hundred euros may be a necessary component of everyday life, while for another person it would be more emotionally comfortable to eat a hot dog on a bench in the park and live in a tent - these are two materially different comfort zones, and if their representatives are swapped , then they will experience the same level of stress and unfamiliarity.

Comfort zone in psychology

This space is a significant value for most people and reflects the desire for stability and strengthening the situation of satisfaction. Despite this, the comfort zone is a positive concept; only when a person strives for it, having found himself in such a state of predictable and reliable satisfaction, the incentive for development and striving forward disappears, since the need to change anything disappears. In addition to his ability and personality, a person who has found himself in a comfort zone for a long time may experience certain infringements and oppression, sacrificing, for example, his own emotional state for the sake of preserving his family or the quality of rest and standard of living for the sake of a stable but low-paid job.

People continue to be in conditions that are not entirely suitable, but familiar and stable, because immediately outside the comfort zone, the risk zone begins, which means danger, uncertainty, testing, the need to turn on the brain, learn new things, cope with unfamiliar situations, and also experience defeat. The reluctance to lose something small, even if not very valuable, outweighs the new opportunities that come with it for many.

Leaving your comfort zone is always associated with development, and not always with losses and an uncomfortable feeling of self. Personal development as a process is natural and therefore comfortable; only the person himself can make it intolerable by being stuck in a pleasant environment for a long time or taking on a task beyond his strength. The entire system of personal development is built on a correct assessment of your level and sense of the amount of internal resources, where you periodically need to leave your comfort zone or return to it to replenish your resources.

The comfort zone is used as a psychological concept precisely because it reflects a person’s psychological comfort. This zone is determined by conventional boundaries, but by a state of mental relaxation and peace, in which habitual stereotypical actions and stereotyped judgments are usually performed (like walking to the refrigerator in your apartment at night or automatically closing the door). Experts note that a sense of security and stability are the only positive characteristics of such situations and events, and in the future there is a deterioration in the human condition, since the desire for active action completely atrophies. Such relaxation leads to stagnation and inevitable degradation, aggravation of existing problems.

The most common companion of a person who has reached a comfortable state and is not going to look for a way out of the comfort zone is the absence of work on his own development. If for a long time the situation does not develop in such a way, where there is a forced need to leave the greenhouse conditions, then conscious activity is gradually turned off, the person begins to live on autopilot, which leads to strong regression. Usually, for someone who has been in a comfort zone for a long time, even the slightest step outside of it becomes serious stress. Thus, a person is capable of falling into a serious stress disorder due to a change of office, where everything has become unusual (one can imagine the state of practicality and helplessness a change of job can drive such a person into).

In the ability to expand or narrow one’s comfortable environment (it is not a stable established structure), an important role is played by the presence of interest or, which meets a person at the border. If acquaintance with the unknown is supported by interest, then there is a chance of quickly expanding past boundaries and mastering new life strategies. Fear paralyzes or forces a person to further narrow his circle of comfort. Advances in one direction or the other are reasonable while maintaining smoothness and gradualness, since when suddenly thrown into a completely unfamiliar situation, a person remains disoriented and helpless - this leads to disruption and.

Leaving the comfort zone, as a desire for new experiences and testing the world around us, is directly related to the maturation of the individual, and for a child the boundaries of his comfort are translucent; he easily tries new things and comes into contact with the unfamiliar. The experience gained is stored and remembered, things appear that are recognized as good and as dangerous, and a set of rules is developed to ensure one’s survival and development.

By mid-life, most people cease to have an insatiable interest in the surrounding reality, believing that they have learned all the laws of this world and stop developing, remaining in the chosen pleasant conditions, it is from this moment that aging and degradation begin. But this is not so much connected with age, but with psychological characteristics; those people who grow up in the psychological sense throughout their lives and do not stop in their development, leave the boundaries of their own comfort quite flexible (the Internet is replete with examples of pensioners who give a head start in their travels and experiments to young people ).

There is also a narrowing of the comfort zone, this is especially evident in people with addictions (chemical or religious, work or relationship), when almost the whole life comes down to one thing, and there is no opportunity to change (due to fear, inability to act maturely). Hiding from real life behind faith and its dictation, behind one’s own security or other things, but whatever the reason, this leads to a departure from real life and a clash with one’s own.

Brian Tracy - comfort zone

Brian Tracy is the most popular specialist (among readers for sure) in introducing into practice methods leading to. He spent considerable time (about several decades) to identify the leading factors in and wrote a book on motivation, with various methods for managing time resources with increasing one’s effectiveness, where he identified the ability to get out of the comfort zone as the leading factor in development.

Brian Tracy offers twenty-one methods for increasing your effectiveness, helping you to focus on your chosen activity and plunge into the development of your own personality, even if this means leaving your comfort zone. The primary rule, reflected in all the rules of Brian Tracy's theory, is to focus on one most important task and complete it completely, despite the lack of interest or the presence of many current small needs. This approach forces a person to face the limitations of his own comfort - those who are used to developing and working will easily overcome the lack of concentration, while those who are accustomed to indulgences and self-pity can experience overload comparable to a beginner in the gym.

A theory is derived about the need to determine the most significant tasks and carry them out. Avoidance of expanding your comfort zone can manifest itself in constant loading with unimportant, but constant routine activities, from which no changes occur, and time is wasted. Whether a person chooses such a strategy in order not to start an unfamiliar activity or out of fear of finding himself in a new reality after completing the main tasks is an individual question, but systematization of affairs and awareness of the results of inactivity can paint a picture of the immediate development of the situation.

The book helps to distribute your energy so that setting unknown tasks in your performance does not introduce stress and rapid depletion of personal resources, and accordingly helps you to authentically and effectively engage in the process of your personal development, avoiding anxious overloads when leaving comfortable conditions (which is inevitable for changing the situation ).

How to get out of your comfort zone

The normal state of the human psyche is the desire for comfort and development, but these concepts are not compatible in the same time period, since any development involves exerting strength and attention, acting in unusual conditions. But the point of development always lies in applying the experience gained to stabilize the situation. Thus, it turns out that a person has an inherent desire to enter the comfort zone, stay in it to accumulate resources and consider the situation for improvement, and then subsequently leave it to develop and gain new experience that helps improve the comfort zone, and return to it.

Leaving your comfort zone for the sake of new fashion trends is useless and destructive; this phenomenon in itself is quite natural and does not require excessive effort and the creation of an artificial situation. Every person is faced with a similar state from childhood - we learn to walk, talk, write, in principle, any acquired skills contain an element of a temporary exit from a comfortable state, in order to improve its quality. This process is called development, but maintaining the existing order of things for the sake of stability and ease of existence is degradation. Development has nothing to do with breaking oneself or violence; this process originates from, the internal craving for change and knowledge. Therefore, behind any exit from the comfort zone there should be a person’s inner personal meaning in this event, just as in leaving the house (the reason is not so important - a vital operation or the desire to breathe autumn leaves - the main thing is that the person sees his own meaning of what is being done).

Thus, if inner meaning is found, then fear is replaced by interest or anxiety, and knowledge of needs helps not to completely plunge into the risk zone, but to leave yourself comfortable islands on which you can rely and get a place to replenish your resource. For example, if it is important for a person to change jobs, then it is worth leaving the old friends and not changing the situation in the apartment during the adaptation stage - this tactic helps not to fly into a disorienting environment, but to smoothly expand the boundaries of one’s comfort, which helps to consolidate them for a longer time. If you change everything radically, then the level of anxiety can go off scale so much that it will return you to your original state, if not throw you back in terms of the level of what you have achieved.

Excessive workload can reduce motivation, and prolonged discomfort will force you to abandon your plans. Therefore, get out of comfortable conditions gradually, let it happen a little longer, but with a feeling of ease. Dose the discomfort, periodically returning to a pleasant state, perhaps gradually increasing the time.

Thus, the main direction of your activity should not be aimed at leaving your comfortable state of mind, but at smoothly expanding those areas where you can feel familiar, and the best assistant here is not fear or compulsion, but interest. It may not be direct, play with your motivation - after all, if it is impossible to learn a language, then you need to find why you personally need it (for example, to fall in love with some foreigner).