How to get out of your comfort zone

“Get outside your comfort zone…” It’s one of the most valuable pieces of advice you can get. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the most difficult to follow.

After all, nobody really wants to open themselves up to discomfort. Especially if you’re already feeling stuck, intimidated or overwhelmed about the future, it can feel like a massive challenge just choosing where to start. Luckily, there are achievable ways to leave your comfort zone that make it a little less scary.

In this article:

• What is the comfort zone?
• Why you need to get out of your comfort zone to thrive
• The benefits of being a little bit uncomfortable
• How to get out of your comfort zone

Let’s kick things off with a quick definition of the comfort zone.

Being in your comfort zone means you’re in a psychological state where you feel safe and secure. You’re surrounded by familiar things and there’s nothing much to challenge you. It’s a bit like being at home – you know it so well that you can do things on autopilot and there aren’t any nasty surprises.

You tend to enter your comfort zone when you’ve been doing the same thing for a while, whether that’s a job, a course or a hobby. You’ve mastered the skills you need to do well in that environment and feel confident that you can do what’s expected of you. If any problems do come up, you know you’ll be able to handle them.

So if the comfort zone is safe and beneficial for our self-esteem, why leave it?

Well, first it’s important to acknowledge that having a comfort zone isn’t a bad thing. It’s good to be able to feel safe and free from anxiety so you can recharge.

However, if you want to grow, you need to seek out new experiences, perspectives and challenges regularly. To revisit that home analogy for a second: home is great for spending your downtime in but that doesn’t mean you want to spend every waking moment there (as many of us discovered very quickly back in 2020).

For example, say you hear about a major networking event for the industry you’d like to work in. You know it could be a wise move for your career, but you’ve never done anything like it before. Perhaps you’re worried you might make a fool of yourself in front of important people.

If you decide to skip the event, you’ll probably feel more comfortable in the short term. If you go, however, you’ll have the opportunity to make valuable connections and learn from others. You’ll also feel more confident the next time an event like this comes up because you’ve had a chance to practise. The long-term benefits could seriously outweigh the momentary discomfort.

This applies to bigger decisions as well. Taking on more responsibilities at work or going for a promotion will almost certainly require you to develop new skills and face situations you’ve never experienced before. You could choose to stay where you’re completely comfortable and carry on as you are now. Or, you could lean into the discomfort and progress in your career as a result, even increasing your earnings.

In other words: to reach your potential and advance in your professional life (and your personal life, for that matter), you’ll need to get out of your comfort zone from time to time.

Here are some of the specific benefits you'll see when you embrace a little bit of discomfort.

Discomfort can nudge you to perform better. A notable scientific theory called the Yerkes–Dodson Law shows that a moderate amount of stress helps us achieve better results. For instance, being a bit nervous before an interview can help you to focus.

It can be a powerful motivator when it comes to learning. If you’re uneasy about a situation, you’ll likely be more determined to gain the knowledge you need to get to grips with it so you can feel more in control. It’s a bit like an itch you really need to scratch.

Getting out of your comfort zone helps you take healthy risks. Trying to swerve discomfort can lead you to avoid risks at all costs, even the healthy ones that could help you. For example, you might not put yourself forward to lead an exciting project because there’s a risk you’ll fail. Bigger risks often mean bigger rewards (like a boost to your reputation or chance of promotion), so being willing to put yourself out there could pay off. Once you've made the step out of your comfort zone and embraced that risk, it will also help you deal with any future fear of failure you come across.

Lastly, dealing with discomfort builds resilience. If you get used to dealing with a certain amount of discomfort and uncertainty, it means you’ll be more resilient in future and more able to deal with unexpected setbacks. Finding ways to overcome new challenges is also a massive boost to your professional confidence.

Here are our top tips for how you can get out of your comfort zone at work and in life.

While any step outside your comfort zone can be helpful, there are probably areas that it would be especially useful to work on. Try creating a list of things that make you uncomfortable. For example, maybe you feel uneasy about public speaking.

Then – once you’ve finished squirming – try to identify which of these is most important for you to make progress on. Are there any that are directly getting in the way of your personal or professional goals?

If you try to make too big a change too quickly, you may be biting off more than you can chew.

Think about it: if you want to run a marathon for the first time, you shouldn’t just go out there one day and do it. You need to increase your fitness bit by bit.

Start to experiment gently with putting yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable. If you’re trying to get better at speaking in public, ask a couple of friends if you could practice in front of them. Gradually increase the stakes as you build your confidence.

New experiences are a fun way to broaden your horizons, so try to make trying new things a habit in your daily life.

These experiences don’t need to be big – you could start by striking up a chat with someone or trying a new gym class. What matters is that you build yourself and try unfamiliar things.

Of course, you could also go all in and road-test a new hobby or travel to a new place. It all depends on what’s realistic for you at the moment.

Finding something new to learn is a good way to stretch yourself because it gives you a structure to follow. It’s also handy for your personal development.

Starting from scratch with a hobby or skill is a great way to embrace discomfort and remember what it's like to be a total beginner.

Making mistakes when you’re learning is par for the course and will get you used to being a little uncomfortable. You'll learn to recognise that being out of your comfort zone isn’t the end of the world (even if it feels like it).

It’s so much easier to do difficult things when you have someone to cheer you on or give you a friendly shove in the right direction when you need it.

Find a friend, colleague or family member who wants to work on a personal goal of their own. Arrange regular check-ins with each other where you can report back on the progress you’ve each made and set achievable goals for next time. It’ll be much easier to stick to it if you have to fess up if you don’t!

It’s also helpful to get guidance from people who have been in your shoes. They’ll be able to give you targeted advice about how you should be pushing yourself to prepare for wherever you want to go.

Have a conversation with your university tutor or your manager at work and explain what you’re aiming to do. They might know of some development opportunities or ways that you can start to take on some additional responsibilities in a controlled way.

One great thing about getting out of your comfort zone is that everyone has had to do it at some point, so you're not alone in your pursuit.

A big problem with the comfort zone is that we tend to massively overestimate the consequences of leaving it.

Every time you consider doing something that makes you uncomfortable, remind yourself that the discomfort won’t last forever. Once you push through it, you’ll be in a much better place.

You don’t need to avoid comfort at all costs to succeed.

In fact, what you should be aiming to do is to keep expanding your comfort zone by adding new situations and skills to it. Once you feel comfortable with one, find a new uncomfortable thing to work on. It’s that forward momentum that will help you to keep growing without getting bogged down.