047 What’s wrong with a comfort zone?

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What’s wrong with a comfort zone? Nothing, really. But you’ll never be able to follow a bold idea where it needs to lead you if you never leave your comfort zone. When we stay in our comfort zones and avoid being scared, we risk becoming complacent and never finding out just what we are made of.

There’s nothing wrong with a comfort zone. A bold idea doesn’t need to be a leap of faith. And you don’t have to be operating scared every day of your life. But there is plenty of value in making sure you don’t stay still so long that you grow stagnant. Leary and Armin discuss the pros and cons of comfort zones, how to know that you are stuck in one, and how to get out of your comfort zone.

Quotes:

“A bold idea doesn’t necessarily need to be a big idea. It’s just means you are trusting God for something in your life that is outside of your comfort zone, a place where faith needs to be put to work.” — Leary

“At the edge of your comfort zone is always fear.” — Leary

“You can’t acquire a new skill unless you are practicing something you have never done before.” — Leary

“If we equate sameness to safety and change to danger, we will always stay in our comfort zone.” — Armin

“What is your view of failure: is it learning, or is it losing?” — Leary

Action steps:

• Step out of your comfort zone in faith. You can never succeed at something unless you are willing to risk failure.
• Living outside of your comfort zone can inspire others to step out theirs.
• You have to train yourself to walk out of your comfort zone. It’s not automatic.
• Have the integrity and the intellectual curiosity to get out of your comfort zone to find out where someone else is coming from.
• Make sure you are asking questions, reading widely, and allowing yourself to be challenged. These are ways you can stretch your comfort zone.
• Ask for what is uncomfortable.
• What is one area of your life that you want to improve? What is one thing you can do to make that happen?
• Having a “why” is really the only thing that matters when following a bold idea. Find yours and follow it.
• Find someone in your life who will answer this question honestly: “Is there an area of my life where I have settled for less than what I should have?”

Resources mentioned:

• Reinventure Me Podcast Episode 006 How to Be a Better Beginner