Featured
Stories

Elizaveta Garifullina (she/her/hers), Low Entropy Volunteer Writer

Pushing your comfort zone is always beneficial. And no, I’m not asking you to get up at five in the morning, go for a run and then take an ice shower. This is about something else.

If we want to grow and develop, we need to go outside of our comfort zone sometimes. We feel safe in our comfort zone because we always know what to expect. For example, our comfort zone may be communication only with people we already know well. Of course, this gives us a sense of security and stability. But this way, we will never get to know new people, interesting personalities and those who could have been intended for us.

I like to imagine the comfort zone as a swamp. Our mind would rather choose its native swamp than a beautiful palace, simply because it has never encountered a palace, and the native swamp is more familiar and calmer. Our mind will do everything to protect us from a new experience, because it may be painful.

Going outside your comfort zone is sometimes scary and often uncomfortable, but it is worth it. When you step out of your comfort zone, you open yourself up to new experiences, people, places, challenges and opportunities. When you come out of your swamp, life begins to spin magically. But, of course, it will always be calmer and more familiar in the swamp.

Why should we push our comfort zone?

1. Development: When you step outside your comfort zone, you challenge yourself. You expand your knowledge, skills and understanding of the world. By getting to know new people and trying to explore different areas, you discover a lot of new experiences and lessons that might not be available in your comfort zone. As humans, we develop thanks to experience, so when you leave your comfort zone, you give yourself the chance to develop. Would you know which country you like the most if you didn’t travel? Or would you know if you would have succeeded in a different direction if you did the same thing all your life?
2. Increased life flexibility and resilience: When you face various obstacles that are outside your comfort zone, you learn to adapt to and overcome them — you learn to be flexible. It’s absolutely normal to be fragile sometimes, but flexibility will help you in life.
3. New opportunities: By going beyond your comfort zone, you expand your horizons and discover a world of possibilities. You can meet new people who will become your lifelong friends, discover new hobbies or find new career paths. You might discover a fuller life for yourself.
4. Self-discovery: When you leave your comfort zone, you start exploring the world like a little child and discover new things for yourself. But the most important thing is that you get to know yourself more. You begin to understand what you really like and don’t like, what kind of life you would like to live and which you don’t. You begin to get to know all your sides, not just those that are convenient for you or others.
5. Liberation: Coming out of our swamp helps us free ourselves from the limiting beliefs we have voluntarily imposed on ourselves. Sometimes some of our beliefs prevent us from reaching our full potential. For example, you might think you are not the kind of person who can lead people. But have you tried? Most likely not. But if you have and failed, don’t let your doubts hold you back. If you tried avocado once and didn’t like it, you could avoid avocados and thereby miss out on many wonderful dishes, but it could just as easily have been one bad avocado.

When you step out of your comfort zone, you prove to yourself that you are capable of much more than you thought was possible. Therefore, instead of avoiding the unknown and staying within our swamp, we must accept the challenges and opportunities that come our way. By going beyond our borders, we can fully realize our potential and get incredible experiences.

—

Leave your thoughts for Elizaveta in the comments below. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube to stay up-to-date with Low Entropy news!