Although its name is not the most suitable representation, the comfort zone is one of the greatest dangers when it comes to progressing as an individual and developing a life plan.

What is the comfort zone?

The comfort zone is a behavioural state in which the individual remains in a situation of neutral anxiety , to simply follow a series of behaviours in order to have the minimum level of performance without sense of risk.

This means that the individual will avoid any type of effort or situation that makes him feel uncomfortable or with which he is not familiar; thus avoiding the possible and diverse rewards that he can achieve in his daily life whether in a work or personal environment.

Why is it so important to get out of the comfort zone?

Because outside it you will have the best experiences of your life and you will contribute a lot to your personal growth .

Maybe you’ve always wanted to go around the world, learn to play an instrument, try to get a better job than you have or study something you love. Why haven’t you done it yet?

Well, it’s possible that your comfort zone is playing tricks on you, drawing you into it and not letting you out. The point is, anything our brains don’t know, they’re gonna be afraid of. Our instincts want to keep us safe, and if we’re in an unusual situation (like living abroad or making a radical change in our life), the alarm will go off and we’ll go back to our comfort zone.

But you must know that the most wonderful things in life happen precisely outside of it .

Personal growth; our partner out of the comfort zone

Having a source of motivation, learning to be tolerant with ourselves and with others, understanding the needs that others have, understanding what they feel, accepting our failures and learning from them, always finding new solutions to our daily problems, living new experiences and above all never stopping learning, no matter what the activity in which the learning is taking place; these are the direct consequences of an optimal personal growth .

Personal growth is given as a life project; it is a plan that although it may not be fast and instantaneous, in the long term it can be the best way to progress as an individual and understand how to live life to the full, turning weaknesses into strengths, achieving a harmonization between our thoughts and actions.

Increasing our knowledge and understanding of our surroundings can allow us to take the first steps on the path of personal growth.

For example: learning a new language allows us to open doors to enter different parts of the world, if we travel we will become more tolerant, we will learn about different cultures, we will become much more sociable and we will learn to communicate with the world in a much more efficient way.

To promote activities in our life that are synonymous with progress , is the main object to develop us as integral individuals who have always been in constant personal growth. In short, if there is something you have always wanted to do, now is the time. You never know what will come next.

How coaching helps us get out of our comfort zone

Coaching is defined as a method that consists of teaching, instructing, training and accompanying a person or a group of people with the aim of fulfilling their goals or developing specific skills for the activity in which they are seeking to progress.

The process of coaching (phases to achieve objectives)

Coaching takes place in 5 simple steps, a good method of instruction is based on the following :

  • The observation of the different points of view : this is fundamental since the person receiving the training will find solutions and will manage to allow the individual to choose between the different options he has to reach the proposed goals.
  • Awareness in the given situation : the trainer will show the individual the different choices he makes and the consequences of these, giving him specific tools to choose consciously and in an optimal way.
  • It is extremely important to establish the objectives . Without clearly defined objectives, the goal to be achieved will not be clear to the individual or the coach.
  • To carry out the necessary actions to reach this goal : It is not enough to simply define the objectives; they have to be carried out following a time frame for doing them, establishing a good schedule for their development
  • See that the plan is on the right track and that results are obtained ; if not, check what the fault is and correct it

If you are lost and do not know where to start changing your life, you have two options: the first is to hire a good coach, but it may not be a profitable option for you because you simply cannot afford it. There is still a second option, to become your own personal coach by reading self-help books on personal development.

Two coaching books that teach us the benefits of leaving the comfort zone

There are many, many well-known books on the subject, but far from repeating the same books that you have probably already heard of, I am going to recommend two, which may not be as well known, but which have a very powerful message to give:

“Coaching for success: the 4 steps to change your life”, by Marina R Pinto

From Marina R. Pinto , a Spanish author, addresses each of the elements that make up personal coaching in such a simple and digestible way that it will become your best tool to become a different person. The reading is quite agile and it is written in second person, which makes it quite a fun book. It talks about reconverting your life in 4 steps:

Step 1: Becoming a more optimistic person

Negative thoughts and attitudes are the first predators of dreams. That is why it is important to start thinking more positively and start being more optimistic, no matter what circumstances you are going through.

And although it is easier said than done, in this book the reader is given the tools to learn to be more positive , pointing out the differences between thought, emotion and feeling, among other aspects, such as the influence that our own beliefs have on us.

Step 2: Cleanse your life of everything that is in your way

Negative thoughts, counterproductive emotions, bad habits… In this part he proposes to eliminate everything that does not do you good and prevents you from fulfilling your dreams . He will also talk to you about the fear of failure and how to face it if it appears.

Step 3: Be proactive

Without action you cannot clear the way to reach your dreams . This is the life lesson that the third step feeds on. In this part the author will talk about how to organize yourself to plan your goals, what steps to take, planning techniques to get extra time for your projects, and most importantly, how to get out of your comfort zone to start your new life.

Step 4: The path is more important than the destination

The unspoken message of this fourth step lies in the importance of understanding what is most important in fulfilling our dreams . Obviously achieving a desired goal is very rewarding, but even more so is realizing that along the way, after overcoming obstacles and finding solutions, we have grown as people. The main objective of the last chapter is to invite reflection on our own actions.

If you are interested, you can purchase the book at this link

“30 Days: Change Habits, Change Life” by Marc Reklau

Marc Reklau proposes in this book to acquire a new habit every day to help you start walking in the world in a different way. The book is made up of about 90 short chapters, very easy and quick to read. The topics it addresses are very similar to those in the book “Coaching for Success”: negative thoughts, achieving goals, new habits to contribute to our psychological health, personal growth, etc.

To buy the book, click on this link