The comfort zone is a place where you can say to yourself “I’m OK”. Things aren’t bad, but they’re not entirely great either. You’re comfortable after all, it’s your safe place. You don’t take risks, but you’re never feeling fantastic. It’s a place where you’re simply OK with everything.
It’s natural to want that blanket of security. We humans hate feeling vulnerable, but It’s impossible to reach your full potential within your comfort zone.
Some people are OK with that, but I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’re not. You’re different and you want to expand your comfort zone, you want things to be great and you’re not satisfied with just staying completely still.
As an NLP coach, the comfort zone is something I discuss a lot with my NLP clients. It’s something everyone faces. They want to change, but they don’t want to take action. I have also come across clients who have tried to take action, but they immediately retreat back into their comfort zone, going back to their old ways again.
How NLP techniques can help you stretch your comfort zone.
When I learned NLP, I managed to develop techniques that allowed me to take a leap in my life whilst maintaining calmness, NLP taught me to reframe my feelings to prevent me from overly panicking when stretching my comfort zone.
This panic, feeling of vulnerability is what I’ve observed in many of my clients. NLP techniques such as reframing have been able to help. It’s the process of changing the context or content of a statement to give it a new meaning.
Reframing allows you to see new opportunities and possibilities, literally reframing your mind and changing your thoughts to prevent that panic, so that you get used to stepping out of your comfort zone.
After all, stepping out of your comfort zone is something you will have to get used to when learning NLP.
The Zones
I want you to think about a few things: what is your comfort, stretch and panic zone?
● Comfort zone - the place you feel most comfortable, secure and risk free
● Stretch zone - things that will challenge you and feel slightly uncomfortable doing
● Panic zone - activities that you would completely avoid at all costs
Another great NLP technique to expand your comfort zone is to identify these three areas so that you can marginally push yourself to new limits everyday.
This model has helped clients completely change their perception, and they have even found it to be life changing! It’s a very respectful and individual model that focuses on areas such as physical activities, work, relationships and social activities.
It has been especially helpful for clients who wished to progress further in their professional lives, either by promotions or raises.
So what is your comfort zone, and what sort of activities will help you stretch it and help you advance further in your life?
If you’re interested in learning more about how exactly NLP techniques can be used to help you expand your comfort zone, then please feel free to contact me here. I have constantly used NLP techniques for myself and clients to become better people.