Pushing one’s comfort zone is a common theme in personal development. Its origins likely trace back to the hero’s narrative arc, where the hero embarks on a journey leading to profound transformation. While this narrative lever helps make a story captivating, it is not necessarily the most effective means to achieve deep change.
The Pitfalls of the Comfort Zone Expansion Mentality
If there are limits to extending one’s comfort zone, it’s because it doesn’t always allow for rewiring the brain to achieve the desired transformation. While the ability to confront our fears can be beneficial, it may not be the compass that consistently points us north. Let me explain. Imagine you are afraid of war and armed conflict in general. Should you participate in it just to eliminate that fear? This seems absurd, yet many decisions aimed at pushing our comfort zone operate under this logic.
Cases That Work
My argument is not an outright rejection of this practice, which has become an ideology, because there are indeed cases that work effectively. However, these are often tied to factors external to this lifestyle philosophy. For instance, individuals who travel or radically change their environment in order to become comfortable with discomfort. Traveling, in my view, is a way to change the game, allowing you to fundamentally alter your environment and habits. Someone who moves to another country faces an immeasurable and irreversible number of changes—language, pace of life, mentalities, etc. This sudden exposure creates a disruption that can deeply modify our life habits, as daily life has a significant influence on our existence. Therefore, I consider this an interesting case where stepping out of one’s comfort zone can be genuinely transformative—though not always in a positive way. Outside of this instance, I would suggest treating the expansion of one’s comfort zone as a secondary practical philosophy, engaged with occasionally to gain confidence in various aspects of life.
True Change Comes from New Habits
Changing habits is challenging because we are caught in an inertia that is slow to change, similar to a ship weighing hundreds of thousands of tons barreling straight towards an iceberg. Altering this trajectory sometimes requires slowing down or even stopping before you can set off in a new direction.
Combining Habits and Daily Challenges
In my opinion, a habit is an action performed with consistent regularity that can be accomplished without friction or hesitation. Ideally, one should establish daily habits, as these can genuinely reshape your brain. Alongside the establishment of new habits, it’s essential to set challenges based on the four themes of existence: body, intelligence, emotions, and spirituality. If you want a more refined breakdown, you might follow the typology proposed by Howard Gardner, who conceptualized the notion of multiple intelligences: intrapersonal, interpersonal, visuospatial, mathematical, linguistic, existential (spiritual), kinesthetic, musical, and naturalistic. You could then divide your year into seasons dedicated to each of these aspects, finding a series of challenges for each theme to become more comfortable with the subject. These limited-time challenges cannot be considered true habits, as you will replace them with other challenges after a set period.
Examples of Challenges
Here are examples of challenges to inspire you:
Intrapersonal Intelligence
- Attend psychotherapy
- Read self-help books for 30 days
- Dedicate an hour to meditation sessions
- Travel alone to an exotic country
- Practice a martial art
- Learn to play a musical instrument
- Engage in prayer
Interpersonal Intelligence
- Approach strangers in the street
- Move to a country other than your own
- Join a sports association
- Create a YouTube channel or Instagram account and interact with your community
- Play online with players from around the globe (preferably in games that allow voice communication with teammates)
- Take acting classes
- Practice a combat sport
Linguistic Intelligence
- Learn a new language
- Watch films in their original version with subtitles
- Make friends with foreigners
- Learn the definitions of new words
Kinesthetic Intelligence
- Engage in activities that require body coordination, like dance or martial arts
- Maintain physical fitness through running, swimming, or any other cardiovascular activity
- Build muscle through weight training
Visuospatial Intelligence
- Engage in painting or drawing
- Participate in orienteering
- Go hiking
Mathematical Intelligence
- School already emphasizes this intelligence, so you’ve likely had opportunities to develop it
- Take programming classes
- Read scientific literature
Naturalistic Intelligence
- Travel to green areas
- Participate in woofing (working on organic farms)
- Engage in gardening
Existential (Spiritual) Intelligence
- Pray
- Visit places with a strong spiritual significance (temples, countries that emphasize this aspect, etc.)
Musical Intelligence
- Learn singing
- Practice a musical instrument
Nonetheless, you understand that if you wish to delve deeper into a subject rather than just challenge yourself, transforming this quest for discomfort into a concrete habit is essential so you can dedicate sufficient time to become better than others.
