I've heard something interesting today. I regularly listen to podcasts by Iwona Majewska-Opiełka. She is a Polish psychologist who lives in Canada. I found her website by accident; she translated into Polish the book by Steven Covey "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", one of my most favorite books by the way.
We can often hear that we can improve and develop us seriously only if we go out from our own comfort zones. As long as we are inside them, we can't get real progress in our lives. Iwona told that she disagrees and explained why.
I'll give you a couple of examples. When you learn a foreign language and you enjoy it, it doesn't require from you leaving that zone. It can be nice, pleasant, and comfortable. If you are home and learn or improve any skill/new skill, and - what is important - you don't hate it, it also doesn't need too much your effort. Every thing like that doesn't need you to leave the comfort zone, but you are improving/developing yourself with no doubt. Things like that can pay off in the future as well, no need to explain it.
I think it's quite common that we hear some universal-known statement, we hear it when it's repeating by many people/sources/etc. and we just take it as the truth. I don't say that we should question everything, just in case. Though, perhaps we should sometimes rethink some "obvious" sentences and slogans, don't we?
Nevertheless, I'm grateful that there are people and events that can open my eyes to many things in that world. No one of us can understand, imagine, feel, and analyze everything. It's necessary to use somebody's knowledge and experience to make life more valuable and fullest.
I absolutely agree! My friend told me recently: "hot take: comfort zones are a good thing" and I suddenly realized that I don't know why I had taken for granted that I should always be going outside of my comfort zone. Sometimes a comfort zone is exactly what we need.
A really interesting post! I agree and disagree. I agree that not everything requires us to leave comfort zones, but I would argue that certain types of growth require leaving your comfort zone. (Perhaps this is a bit serious) For example, as a white person, it is probably not always comfortable for me to talk about race or racism, but over the years my understanding of the problems and my position in this issue has grown and changed from being challenged. I think the key is always balance for anything (some uncomfortableness, combined with a lot of comfortableness). Everyone is also only willing to be pushed so far until it becomes too much (and then also nothing goes in, or you cannot absorb the lesson), but this also varies person to person.
I agree! with Jola, Amie and @alzbeta. I read this perspective somewhere a few years ago and I also realized how pushing myself to constantly be uncomfortable wasn't helping (and - weirdly - this was a comfort zone in and of itself! letting myself rest and be comfortable was sort of an uncomfortable zone!)
For me personally, it was something new; a new point of view that makes a big difference in my life. Of course, I realize that to make some progress requires me to leave my comfort zone. I'm just glad that not EVERY progress needs it and there is no need to have remorse that we are losing our time if we feel comfortable.
Thank you for your corrections!!