Is 'GETTING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE' A Bad Advice?

 

HOW many times have we heard ALMOST everyone egging us to GET OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES?   Probably a zillion times.  Be it from our parents, mentors, counsellors, and even from coaches & motivational speakers.  NOW, straight from the cold, I came across a recent study breaking down the viability and merits of that age-old advice.  This time around, the study disproves all of those studies and instead, it dug a deep hole on the ground to stand pat WHY we should NOT get out of our COMFORT ZONES💥💥💥

YES, GETTING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE sounds smart.  Unfortunately, everyone of them gets away with that supposedly very 'sage' advice even as it sounds authoritative and YET offering NOTHING of actual value, NOTHING in concrete terms.  BUT dice-and-drilling it, it sounds like a bad advice because often, it is communicated in a way that DOESN'T land for most people, and therefore, it just DOESN'T work.  In the most frank and categorical statement, allow me to restate things this way:  EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS WITHIN YOUR COMFORT ZONE BUT YOU'VE GOT TO STRETCH THINGS OUT✅✅✅

For alignment, let's agree on the COMFORT ZONE as that psychological 'SAFETY NET'.  LIKE we have a concept of our own self, that collection of ideas we hold about WHO we are and WHAT we do OR DON'T do.  LIKE a mental blueprint that influences our behaviors, preferences and even our perceived boundaries.  For brevity, that COMFORT ZONE is an extension of our self-concept helping us feel safe and very much in control.  YES, we know for a fact that this rowdy world we live in is quite crazy and unpredictable for us to be 'fluid' and leave our COMFORT ZONE often😌😌😌

Let's call a spade a spade.  WHEN we're told to 'LEAVE YOUR COMFORT ZONE', let's admit it, it sounds quite overwhelming and scary because it seems to clash with the identity we've built.  The change seems too drastic and may even be quite intimidating, reinforcing the more those imaginary boundaries of our COMFORT ZONE.  Experts tell us that on an intellectual level, it might NOT seem that way BUT on a deeper level, our nervous system, emotional, psychological and subconscious levels, leaving our COMFORT ZONE equates to stepping into the unknown😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Even as I play devil's advocate now, let's face it, going against our system is like trying to stretch a rubber band wrapped around a tree.  YES, we can only go so far before it snaps us right back to WHERE we started.  WHAT happens next, motivation dwindles and we end up back to square one, feeling worse for NOT sustaining the planned change. This cycle reinforces NEGATIVE beliefs about our abilities, leaving us to feel failed and frustrated.  So, IS GETTING OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE a bad advice???