The Reason You are Not Growing
Your growth starts at the end of your comfort zone.
“Great things never came from comfort zones — Anonymous”
What does it take to break a world record? Any kind of record.
In athletics, you would need to run 100 meters in less than 9 seconds. Usain Bolt did it in 9.58s in 2009.
Good luck with that.
In the World Guinness Records, you would need insurmountable effort. Hilda Baci, a 27-year-old Nigerian chef, passed the 100-hour mark when she cooked for 4 straight days.
Breaking world records is symbolic of stepping out of your comfort zone.
But what does this entail?
The concept of a comfort zone emerged in 1908 after two scientists, Robert Yerkes, and John Dodson conducted experiments on maximizing performance.
The study concluded that to maximize performance, we need to be in a state of being just outside of our comfort zone.
This later became known as ‘optimal anxiety’.
It’s a fine balance between being motivated to succeed and not suffering from too much or prolonged anxiety.
The bottom line is that when you are outside your comfort zone, there is anxiety that can help motivate you to succeed. In contrast, comfort zones make us operate in anxiety-neutral positions.
Achieving great feats involves going out of your comfort zone
Blackthorne broke the World Guinness Record after he carried 27 pounds using his tongue in 2004 for only five seconds. To achieve this, he trained for six years.
His tongue was pierced by a hook that held four weights, and he set the record in 2004 without injuring himself.
Usain Bolt achieved a world Olympic record of 9.58s in the 2009 100-meter race.
Bolt’s training involved lengthy 90-minute gym sessions three times a week that aimed to increase explosiveness and power. He trained hard both on and off track.
Michael Phelps, won a remarkable 8 gold medals in the 2008 Olympics.
In an interview with Michael Phelps and his coach Bob Bowman, interviewer Anderson Cooper, Bowman talked about the rigorous training demands that Phelps had undergone in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics. Bowman said:
“Phelps did not take one day off for about 5 years. He trained on Christmas day and even twice on his birthday.”
Great artists demonstrate that they have mastered the art of pushing beyond their point of pain and comfort zone.
My experience getting out of my comfort zone
I have also been experimenting on growth beyond my comfort zone within my writing endeavours.
I have been engaging in activities that make me feel anxious and as a result, I have achieved a lot more.
Three tips have come in handy for getting out of my comfort zone.
#1 Starting small
I began by doing things that were outside my routine. Such as reading books outside my genre. As I adapted to the discomfort, I learned a few tips and grew further.
I observed when I was fearful of embracing new change but decided that it was better to choose growth over complacency.
#2 Noticing when I always say “I can’t”
Another growth hack was to observe when I said that I could not complete a given task. I decided to replace this with the decision that I can.
This could be as simple as learning a new language or trying out a new recipe when you have guests.
The anxiety can be too much sometimes but eventually, I have observed growth.
#3 Learning to embrace discomfort
In my previous article,
I described how we can learn how to escape the distractions of our modern world.
Avoiding these distractions is still a way to get out of our comfort zones. It can feel anxious as you foster mindfulness behaviour.
However, you eventually grow out of it and embrace change.
Pushing outside your comfort zone will help you grow. 100% guaranteed. You might also discover something fun that you love.
Chances are that even if you fail, you will learn something and even improve your resilience and ability to adapt to change.
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