Comfort Makes Cowards of Us All
Comfort makes Cowards Of Us All: Michael E. Gerber
This quote is something I see day in, day out. It is a massive mural where I work at Lift Performance Centre and I love it. I read it every day without fail.
Let me give you a bit of a backstory, I LOVE routine, I mean I crave it! It makes me feel calm, collected and in control (and anyone who has read my previous posts will know what a control freak I am!). So naturally pushing outside my comfort zone is not something I tend to gravitate towards. However over the last few years it is something I am pushing myself to do more and more, and the further I step out, the more I crave it. Take something as simple as paddle-boarding. I have been telling my friends I would try paddle-boarding for over a year! Then a few weeks ago I (spontaneously I might add) tried it and of course loved it! I felt empowered, happy and proud of myself. Now this might seem like a small thing, but for me it was a big deal. And now I have done it once I can’t wait to do it again.
The Comfort of the Comfort Zone
Humans are ruled by habits (something I have covered in my last blogs). We like to be; its comfortable, makes us feel good, makes us feel safe and therefore minimises our stress and risk. Why wouldn’t we? No-one enjoys feeling vulnerable and weak.
The problem is when people stay ignorantly happy in their comfort zones for periods of time they become complacent and are in real danger of creating physiological barriers that can generate real limitations. We begin to think we are incapable of doing anything outside of our normal day to day routine and the result means we live inwardly focusing on mundane every day tasks. Is that living? To some people, maybe, but for the majority far from it.
There are numerous benefits to stepping out into that magical space just outside your comfort zone. In 1908 Psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson found that in order to maximise performance we need a relative state of anxiety. Think about it… have you ever had a big presentation at work or interview for your dream job and get those butterflies in your stomach, sweaty palms and dry mouth? Then you give the best performance of your life and you wonder how you did it? For an athlete this is called ‘The Inverted U Hypothesis’; at low levels of arousal, performance will be below par, but as arousal increases so does performance… to an optimal point. After this further arousal can lead to a decline in performance. For us mere humans this is called 'Optimal Anxiety' and is found just outside the comfort zone. It puts us under enough stress to perform to our optimal without increasing our stress levels to the point of unproductivity or no performance (stage fright!). The key word here is ‘Optimal’. It's where both the physical and mental reach their peak. If you push too much you will reinforce the idea in your mind to stay safe and take no risk and performance will suffer.
So Why Bother?
Many reasons:
You will be more productive: Think how you feel if you have a deadline to hit. Your productivity suddenly goes from 0 to 100 in the space of a few hours.
You will be more able to adapt to change: Taking risks in a controlled and manageable way will help you deal with those life changes which kick you far out your comfort zone with no warning.
You will find it easier to exist where the magic happens: An article in the New York Times by Brene Brown; a research professor at the University of Houston describes ‘Productive Discomfort’ as being accustomed to living in the state of optimal anxiety.
Dip your foot in, Don’t Dive
So how do you do it? Like ANYTHING in life it doesn’t need to be all or nothing! Start by changing things in your day to day life; take a different route to work, seek out a new coffee shop, buy a different brand of your favourite food…the small things soon add up. Don’t be afraid to start slow. You know that saying do something everyday that challenges you? I actually disagree with it. For the majority of us its not realistic nor achievable, but do something once a week that scares you? I think thats a good start.
So for me what does this mean? Well I will definitely be paddle boarding again! And the next step is to step on a surfboard ...Australian Surf Championships better watch out!