Comfort Zone: What We Often Overlook!

The comfort zone is such a widely discussed concept that it has almost fallen out of fashion. However, it's a very interesting notion to examine life from a different angle. I mentioned it in one of the very first psychology articles on the blog: the comfort zone is important... and stepping out of it is just as important! But beyond these two realities, there exists a third state that we often overlook.

You can be in or out of your comfort zone, on your couch, or deep in the Amazon rainforest, sipping coffee at your favorite bar, or skydiving from a plane. But is it really that simple? Is reality that binary?

You guessed it, the answer is: no!

We often forget that there is an intermediate zone between the comfort zone and the outside world, which can be new and frightening: this is the learning zone.

Why am I bringing up the concept of the comfort zone again, and why do I want to emphasize the learning zone? Because I receive a lot of messages from (future) travelers struggling with the idea of taking the big leap and leaving their comfort zone, often to embark on their first big trip.

And I realize, after rereading my first article on the comfort zone, that while I emphasized the importance of the comfort zone and the need to leave it from time to time to discover the world and rediscover oneself, I haven't spoken enough about the learning zone.

In developmental psychology, we would refer to the >. It is the zone between the known world and the unknown world, between the knowledge already acquired and the knowledge still to be assimilated. It is in this zone that we can learn in the most optimal way: if we step back too far, we get bored because we are in too familiar territory, but if we move too far forward, we find ourselves too distant from our foundational knowledge and therefore unable to connect new material to prior knowledge. Because to learn, we must be able to link new and old information, connecting everything to make sense of it.

And what holds true in pedagogical settings in classrooms also applies to the outside world. Some daredevils enjoy challenging themselves and diving into situations that are radically new. This quest for adrenaline was also discussed in the previous article, along with the risk of becoming addicted to the sensations caused by novelty.

This may seem paradoxical: the more I step out of my comfort zone through the learning zone, the more confident I feel in this new environment, and the more I integrate it back into my comfort zone. Thus, by stepping out of our comfort zones, we ultimately find ourselves back in them, as this zone catches up with us as soon as the novelty wears off. But that's just how this phenomenon works!

Many future travelers are frightened by the idea of stepping into the unknown, as the leap ahead seems unprecedented. The solution, following the principle of the learning zone, is straightforward: take it one step at a time. It's up to them to find how to bridge the gap between the big leap and their current situation so that the final step leading to the airplane doesn't feel too large, transforming it from a plunge into the unknown into an immersion in the learning zone.

I had already shared it in my first article on the comfort zone, but I love it so much that I'm sharing the link here: a fantastic little animated video that clearly explains the comfort zone, as well as the learning zone.

Thus, in my coaching sessions with future travelers, I often advise them to start from their own experiences. The first step is to lean on their accomplishments and recognize what they have already achieved, the steps they have already taken, the trips they have already experienced... And from there, I encourage the future traveler to find an (or multiple) intermediate project between their current situation and their upcoming big trip.

For example: organize a solo city trip in an unfamiliar city in Europe, choosing based on their past experiences and fears (a city far away or close, where they know the language or not...); or experiment with a new way of traveling (a new mode of transport, a new type of accommodation, a new activity); or even test one of the aspects of their project (try camping, volunteering).

And ultimately, one of the essential points before embarking on a first trip, especially if there are many fears to overcome, is to put things into perspective! It is impossible to be 100% ready, and the perfect trip does not exist. Ultimately, feeling prepared isn't about knowing if you have everything essential in your bag, but whether you have everything you need in your head!

The learning zone, a future extension of the comfort zone, helps to illuminate this world around us that can sometimes seem dark, mysterious, and frightening. One step at a time, armed with a candle, we illuminate a new zone, a new discovery, a new learning, a new experience... One step at a time, we learn to open ourselves to the world with more confidence, and we learn to know this wonderful world... and to know ourselves.

If this article resonates with you and you wish to be supported on a personal journey, for example to overcome some of your fears or embark on a grand trip, feel free to contact me for a coaching request.

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