MOST FAILURES in life are the result of not leaving our comfort zones.1 We like to stick to the things that feel familiar, but don’t realize that we’re on a bad trajectory until it’s too late. As the famous quote goes, “Great things never came from comfort zones.”
In this article, I explain what you can do to make great things happen in both your life and business.
Key Takeaways
- Complacency closes you off to growth, and opens you up to failure. Dangers build up when we find ourselves in a place of quiet pleasure for too long.
- With any endeavor, there’s a certain level of risk involved. You will inevitably get judged for going against the grain.
- Getting uncomfortable gets easier the more often you do it. With practice, you will find it easier to do the things that would otherwise require tremendous willpower.
Why Do We Like Our Comfort Zone?
The comfort zone is a place where we are most comfortable. This might be a job we’ve been familiar with for years, or the same eating habits we’ve indulged in since we were children. People don’t make any changes to these routines because they give them a sense of security. They know that not much can go wrong when they feel comfortable—or so they think.
Complacency closes you off to growth, and opens you up to failure. Dangers build up when we find ourselves in a place of quiet pleasure for too long.
Be Afraid of Doing Too Little
Benjamin Mays, the American rights leader who is credited with laying the intellectual foundations of the American civil rights movement, said it best, “The tragedy of life is not found in failure but complacency. Not in you doing too much, but doing too little. Not in you living above your means, but below your capacity. It’s not failure but aiming too low, that’s the life’s greatest strategy.”
Achieving your full potential can only happen when you explore new opportunities. You have to question your routines, experiment with new things, and take a deep dive into some of the challenges the world has in to offer. Great possibilities present themselves when we seek discomfort.
The Story of Bill Gates, Founder of Microsoft
As an entrepreneurship coach, Bill Gates’ story fascinates me.
Gates was originally like many of us. He would retreat to his safe zone whenever he encountered something risky in his life. Taking the conservative approach was always the path that was on his mind. However, one day that changed.
Gates took a chance when he was presented with the opportunity to assist his friend, Paul Allen, with a business venture in computer programming. Not long after, Allen left the company, and the success of Microsoft was in Gates’ hands. Under his command, the company would go on to establish itself as the most successful computer software company in history.
Comfort Doesn’t Lead to Achievement
Gates saw tremendous success after leaving his comfort zone. He probably first had to break through the plateau of latent potential, but he knew that feeling safe, at ease, and secure at all times would not lead to great achievements. His results speak for themselves …
Though he achieved much success prior, one of the highlights of Gate’s career came in 2016 when he was awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest possible civil honor in the United States. Along with the presidential recognition, Times Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, a prestigious list exclusive to people who have changed the course of humanity for the last 100 years.
Great Things Never Came from Comfort Zones in the UFC
Athletes in the UFC don’t believe that talent alone will get them to the top. The UFC, short for The Ultimate Fighting Championship, is a mixed-martial arts promotion in which a series of fights take place around the world. Qualifying to perform in a so-called fight night of their weight division requires discipline, as most fighters have to cut 15 to 20 pounds to make their desired class. They risk receiving a pay cut if they weight too much on weigh-in day.
To avoid this penalty, the fighters go through a rigorous weight-cutting process. The final weight cut, which happens five or six days prior to the weigh-in, is considered to be the strictest one. During this time period, athletes go through relentless dehydration and a starvation (Perhaps this is their definition of time well-spent). In some cases, the weight cut is so overwhelming that the fighters faint, live on camera and on the day of the weigh-in.
Fighters Step Outside Their Comfort Zone
After both opponents pass the weighing process, they fight each other in a ring. A typical UFC fight is 3 rounds in a non-championship fight, and 5 rounds in a championship and main event. Each round lasts for 5 minutes with a 1-minute rest in between. If the fight lasts all rounds, the outcome is decided by a group of judged. Typically, fighters finish the fight by knockout, choke, or breaking limbs.
The public has mixed emotions about the ethics of the sport. But whether or not you agree with it, there’s no denying that professional fighters step outside their comfort zones to be successful.
Not only do they go through rigorous weight-cuts, they also put in hard work, develop new skills, and push themselves to the limit on fight day. They prove to themselves again and again what they’re capable of.
How to Leave Your Comfort Zone and Make Great Things Happen
With any endeavor, there’s a certain level of risk involved. You will inevitably get judged for going against the grain. You might even have to make some significant changes to your life, like Bill Gates did when he started his new job at Microsoft.
These decisions tend to pay off. If you don’t step outside of your comfort zone, you will never feel like you’re living to our fullest. You will never know the heights you’re capable of achieving. So, how can you step outside of your boundaries more often?
1. Adopt a Positive Thinking Mindset
The best way to motivate yourself to leave your comfort zone is to is to adopt a positive thinking mindset. You have to realize that your inner voice of fear, which manifests itself when you want to get uncomfortable, aims to protect you from dangers that could potentially kill you. This is a normal survival instinct of the human brain.
Most new activities that require you to leave your comfort zone though, will not kill you. Instead, they will make you a much stronger and resilient person. Exercising is not going to cause you to die, and neither will a first date.
Here are a few examples on how you can turn your negative thoughts into positive ones.
- Turn “I don’t have what it takes to get a girlfriend,” into “I will just be myself and someone will fall in love with me.”
- Turn “This workout is going to be painful,” into “I can’t wait to feel a sense of accomplishment when I’m done exercising.”
- Turn “I will fail this test,” into “I prepared so much for this test I will be fine”
2. Adopt a “Just Do It” Attitude
The longer we think about doing something, the harder it gets. When you contemplate about getting uncomfortable, you subconsciously develop beliefs that reinforce why you should rather stay comfortable. “I will go to the gym,” changes to “I will do it tomorrow when I feel better,” and “I will read this book” turns into “I’ve had a long day and I can’t concentrate.”
As mentioned, these thought patterns are the brain’s way of keeping you safe. Though this intuitive mechanism is useful when it comes to our survival, it counterproductive for people who want to grow. Growth happens when you’re trying new things and immerse yourself in a world you haven’t been in before.
The 3-Second Rule is of the most effective ways to step outside your comfort zone. When you feel a spark of motivation that makes you want to do something that you would otherwise find unpleasant, take action within the first 3 seconds. That way, you don’t give your mind the time to develop beliefs as to why you shouldn’t do it. As the famous Nike quote reads, “Yesterday you said tomorrow. Just do it.”
3. Get Used to Getting Uncomfortable
Stepping outside of your comfort zone gets easier the more often you do it. A little while ago, I read Wim Hof’s book called, The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential. Hof has become known as the ‘Iceman’, making scientists re-think the limits of the human body.
He has broken world records, and made headlines for climbing mountains without any clothes on, and holding his breath under water for 6 full minutes. He embodies the quote, “Great things never came from comfort zones.” Studying him taught me one thing: Getting uncomfortable gets easier the more often you do it. With practice, you will find it easier to do the things that would otherwise require tremendous willpower.
That being said, if you want to achieve your goals and take your life to new heights, you best get used to leaving your comfort zone. And what better time is there than now?
References
- “The Pros and Cons of Comfort Zones: Acknowledging and wisely deciding when to embrace and break through boundaries is critical to career and life successes.” Walden University: Education for Good, www.waldenu.edu/programs/psychology/resource/the-pros-and-cons-of-comfort-zones.