In a world that never stops evolving, embracing change and stepping beyond our comfort zones is an important aspect of living a fulfilling life. This is not limited to the professional domain, but all aspects of life can be improved by being comfortable with that little bit of discomfort that lies outside of the box. While this seems like a paradox, it is core to what modern psychology says about leading a life outside of our comfort zone.
A Simple Framework For Life
Life can often seem overwhelming with its myriad of choices and paths. To navigate effectively, adopting a simple framework helps in aligning actions with personal and professional aspirations. When discussing what is good, philosophers like Kant often distinguish between means and ends, or processes and states. This distinction is actually very useful when it comes to deciding what to do and how to do it.
“Means” tell us what to do to get to a certain end. Adopting a strategy of gradual and staggered means will help us get out of the comfort zone without experiencing so much anxiety. This strategy, based on the theory of operant conditioning by B.F. Skinner, will gradually reinforce the behavior. For example, if you are afraid of public speaking, you can start by addressing smaller groups.
However, some means can be the end themselves, especially in the area of personal growth. In that case, we enjoy and value the process, instead of focusing solely on the end result. Thus, daily activities become sources of satisfaction and continuous development.
So, when we are deciding what to do, we can either do those things that help us get to something, say working to get money, or do things that we enjoy doing, say hanging out with friends.
Now, many people have a natural aversion to either of these two ways of living because they prefer to stay “safe” in what they know. But, both of these are necessary to living a good life. They also provide a very simple way of integrating psychological theories for going beyond your comfort zone.
Selecting Goals
We often feel as if we need to go beyond our comfort zone because some goal, or way of living, exists out there. There is nothing wrong with this, we naturally want to build a better life for ourselves, or a better world for everyone. Setting and achieving goals is necessary to do either of these things.
Insights from professionals who have completed online masters degree programs in counseling psychology give us useful tools for setting and pursuing goals. First of all, many people find it difficult to know what goals to have. This can often be frustrating for someone who wants to pursue some end but doesn’t know what end that is. One way of overcoming this is to sit with a pen and paper, or a laptop, and write down an answer to the following question: “What would life look like in a year (or some time frame) if I could have anything I (realistically) want?”
This defines a kind of personal north star to aim towards. It is also a good opportunity to be honest with yourself. Do you want an expensive house? To finally finish that degree? To spend more time with your friends? There are no bad answers here.
Now we can use the SMART framework to turn this vision into a rigorous goal. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. To make your goal more specific, simply meditate a little longer on what this end state actually looks like.
To make the goal measurable, think about how you’ll know when you have achieved the goal. Achievable goals are those which you are motivated to work on. Realistic goals are those which, given your starting position, are achievable. Yes, maybe you can have a million dollars and a mansion, but are you going to get them in a week? Probably not. Finally, the final goal and each of the major achievable steps should have a time attached to it.
Growth Mindset
Once we have defined a goal that exists outside of our comfort zone, we need to build up a frame of mind that is able to deal with this discomfort that is generated when we must face the unknown. This is called a growth mindset.
What is a growth mindset? One way that psychologists are able to categorize people is in their self-perceived ability to develop talent through persistent hard work. These people have a growth mindset. This is in contrast to people who do not believe they are capable of developing through their own means. These people are said to have a closed mindset.
People with a growth mindset have a tendency to lean into challenges, viewing them as opportunities to learn rather than obstacles to avoid. A study conducted at Goucher College showed that growth mindset increases self-efficacy, which helps us be more confident in our potential and achieve our goals.
This approach allows them to persevere through difficulties, adapt their strategies, and ultimately achieve greater success. They also actively seek feedback to improve and consider failure a part of the learning process, not a reflection of their abilities.
Growth Zone
The growth zone is derived from the psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. This describes a level of difficulty of a task that is not so difficult that you give up, but not too easy that you are acting autonomously. The growth zone builds on this by recognizing that the zone of proximal development is where you improve the most.
The key to success in the growth zone is to figure out how to assign positive affect, or emotions, to challenges and setbacks. In fact, a study conducted at Duke University found that people who understood and valued the importance of leaving their comfort zone were more likely to take the necessary steps to continue growing.
To see this, consider the difference between an amateur and a professional pianist. An amateur pianist may play for four hours a day because they love the instrument, they love playing, and they want to improve.
The pro however may play for the same amount of time, but it is always a piece that is slightly too difficult for them. As such, they must improve in order to play that piece. This is a difficult place to be, where you are always stretching. But if you were then to ask the professional how their day was, they would reply “Incredible”. This is the state of being comfortable outside your comfort zone.
Embracing the discomfort and challenging oneself are integral to cultivating a growth mindset and expanding the growth zone. By committing to this continuous journey of self-improvement and embracing the principles outlined in this article, we can not only enhance our personal and professional lives but also contribute to a richer, more adaptive society.
References:
Kiknadze, N. C., & Leary, M. R. (2021) Comfort zone orientation: Individual differences in the motivation to move beyond one’s comfort zone. Personality and Individual Differences; 181: 111024.
Keenan, M. (2018) The impact of growth mindset on student self-efficacy (Master’s thesis, Goucher College). Graduate Programs in Special Education.
Leave a Reply