The Comfort Zone - Is yours keeping you stuck?

There’s nothing like feeling capable and strong is there? Feeling like you’re on solid ground, you know what to expect, what to do and can just hum along as you please.

Staying within your comfort zone provides a sense of security, stability, and familiarity. It can can help you conserve energy and avoid stress, as you don't have to continually adapt to new and challenging situations. Which definitely has benefits!

It can also keep us stuck. While it feels safe, never challenging our comfort zone can keep us small and can prevent us from growing into that next version of ourselves that we secretly (or not so secretly) want to be.

But have you thought about the fact that our comfort zone is growing and expanding throughout our whole lives? Think about something you do all the time (like cooking your favourite meal, driving a car, reading a book). There was a time in your life when you hadn’t done this thing and starting out was hard! Maybe you didn’t mind it being hard because you really wanted to learn to drive, and maybe you were terrified those first few times… but you can now drive a car, or cook a meal, or read a book without a second thought.

By being mindful and intentional about your comfort zone, you can use it as a foundation to build upon, while still taking calculated risks to grow and develop.

If you think your comfort zone is keeping you stuck, ask yourself the following questions:

Is it all aspects of my life or just some?

Just like the individuals we all are, we all have a different version of where our comfort zone lies. Think about breaking your life up into the following areas:

• Work

• Relationships, Friendships and Social Life

• Beliefs about ourselves

• Family

• Spirituality (in whatever way works for you)

• Health and Wellbeing

• Food

• Creativity

• Financial Wellbeing

• Other skills/growth areas (e.g. learning to draw, learning to drive, stepping into a new role, learning anything new!)

Where do I sit on the ‘readiness’ scale?

All of us have a different scale of comfort in each of these areas ranging from ‘It is impossible to move from here’ to ‘I’m ready to leap’. Working through the list above, when you think about growing of change in each of the areas of your life, think about where you sit on the following scale:

1. Impossible to move from here: This level represents a state of complete discomfort and fear. You feel unable to move from your current position and are highly resistant to change.

2. Not ready yet: You are aware of the need to move outside your comfort zone, you are willing to acknowledge the possibility of trying. You may feel nervous or unsure, but with a little support you can see a path to getting started.

3. Cautiously willing: You are becoming more confident in your ability to step outside your comfort zone and are willing to try new things - with lots pf preparation and support! You may still feel some nervousness, but you are starting to feel more in control.

4. Ready to dip a toe in: At this level, you are ready to try something new, but only in a limited capacity. You are taking baby steps towards expanding your comfort zone.

5. Excited to try: You are eager to take on new challenges and experiences, and feel excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. You have a positive outlook and are willing to take on more risks.

6. I'm ready to leap: You have a strong sense of confidence and self-assuredness, and feel ready to tackle anything that comes your way.

It might be enough for you to just stop there and sit with that reflection for a while. But if you want to get moving and start making some change in your life (no matter how small) but don’t know how, read on.

Where should I start?

So you’ve rated the areas in your life against the scale above. Some of them don’t hold any emotion and don’t feel like they are big issues in your life right now.

Some of these areas of our lives are neutral. Some of them are part of your inner strength and can stay that way! But I’ll bet there were a couple of them that felt a little bit uncomfortable, maybe part of what is keeping us stuck. It might be enough for you to just shine a light on these areas and you know what a next step might look like. If so, onward!! If you feel like you’d like some help to get you moving onto that next step, the tapping exercise below is a good place to start.

Grow Your Comfort Zone Tapping Exercise

Please allow 15-20 minutes to complete the Tapping session.

Using the list above as your starting point, arrow it down to the top few areas where you’d like to see some change, but don’t know where to start.

Now pick just one… We’re going to work on one area, but you can repeat this process as many times as you like to help you get started and grow that comfort zone.

Have a pen and paper/note app handy so you can jot down the answers to the questions below and also to make note of anything that pops up along the way.  You can come back and tap on those things later.  You might also want to have a drink of water and a tissue handy in case you feel teary at some point through the tapping.  You might not, but it is good to be prepared! 🙂

The Tapping audio below is just under 15 minutes, but you may want to rewind and work on some parts along the way.

I hope you have found this helpful!

If you feel you would like help to work through something more significant, please book a session with me, or book a chat to find out more.