Comfort, stretch and danger- it’s all about the zones
Let’s talk about comfort zones. Well, more precisely comfort, stretch and danger zones.
Lately I’ve been spending a fair amount of time in my stretch zone, as I share today, and this has made my comfort zone a whole lot bigger. And this is a good thing when it comes to growth. Even if it feels scary!
What are comfort, stretch and panic zones
If you’re wondering what comfort, stretch and danger/panic zones are, then you’ll hear all about this in the podcast, but as a quick ‘cheatsheet’ style guide for you…
- Comfort Zone: The comfort zone is a rather ‘lovely’ place. When you’re there, you feel at ease, calm, secure… maybe even confident. In your comfort zone, you’re unlikely to feel stressed and you’re likely to find that when you’re in this zone, you do things you’ve done many times before. It’s easy to stay in this space- I mean, who wouldn’t, it sounds like the dream, right? Well, not quite, as whilst it’s safe and secure, nothing that exciting happens in there. Opportunities to grow, learn new things and push yourself are non-existent, and this isn’t all that good for personal development.
- Stretch Zone: The stretch zone is where it all gets interesting. If you imagine the comfort zone as a circle on a piece of paper, the stretch zone is the area just beyond that circle. This is where you learn new skills, try new things, explore new ideas. You might feel uncomfortable, excited, a bit anxious, like you’re stretching yourself (hence the name), but it’s not awful. When you’re here, you’ll be learning and growing… and the really good thing is that when you achieve inside your stretch zone, your comfort zone expands to take it in, to provide a stepping stone to your next area for growth.
- Danger Zone: The danger or panic zone is an area to try and avoid. You don’t feel stretched here, you feel panicked, overwhelmed, stressed, anxious, you might also become emotional because it all feels too much. You’re unlikely to learn in this area (because of the panic!). Most people can achieve the tasks inside the panic zone without the stress if they get there in steps. To do this, look to have the activity that has caused the panic as a goal, and keep stretching the stretch zone to edge closer.
Tune in in all the normal places- Apple, Amazon Music, Spotify… anywhere you usually listen to your favourite podcast.
