Most people stay where it’s safe. But there’s a different kind of progress that comes from choosing something that makes you uncomfortable on purpose.

Dr. Andrew Fix shares why stepping outside your comfort zone is a key part of growth and development. He tells the story of getting back on a mountain bike (which is something he hadn’t done in years) and how facing that discomfort helped him build confidence in a new way. Along the way, he invites you to reflect on your own life. What are the things you’ve been avoiding because they feel unfamiliar or a little intimidating? Where have you been playing it safe, and what might shift if you tried something different?

This episode is a reminder of how growth often starts with one small, uncomfortable step. Dr. Fix also talks about the value of having a clear goal and how working backward from that destination can give you a real plan instead of just wishful thinking. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to stretch yourself, this might be the nudge you’ve been needing.

Quotes

• “Think to yourself, what are the things in your life that you do all the time that you would say are well within your comfort zone?” (05:32 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
• “What is that activity that you have been wanting to do that you haven’t done because you’re uncomfortable?” (06:44 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
• “I want to encourage you to just take the first step… You don’t have to do that thing tomorrow, but if you start to put the pieces in place and put the goal on the calendar, right? Like, put the goal, write it down and start to work backwards.” (07:09 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
• “You don’t set the small goal first and hope that you’re eventually going to make it to where you want to go. You have to put the big one, the big goal, the main thing out there, and you have to work backwards from there. Because otherwise, if you don’t know where you’re going, how are you ever going to get there?” (07:42 | Dr. Andrew Fix)
• “Find the thing that puts you out of your comfort zone. Don’t stop doing the things that you enjoy, but also do the things that push you to grow.” (09:30 | Dr. Andrew Fix)

Links

The Comfort Crisis – https://eastermichael.com/book/

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Connect with Physio Room:

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Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm

The post 184. Stretching the Edges: The Power of Discomfort appeared first on Physio Room.

And that’s.. getting out of your comfort zone!

So much of our life, whether that’s work, whether that’s our cars, our homes, like so much stuff that we have and how our life unfolds is made to make us more comfortable. One example that comes to mind is air conditioning.

It was hot this summer in Colorado. How uncomfortable would you be if you didn’t have AC at your home? There are many people in the world that don’t have that, and they deal with that on a day in, day out basis. Same thing with heat in the wintertime. Imagine how uncomfortable it would be if you didn’t have that.

I also think of suitcases. We use rolling luggage and suitcases when we’re traveling. That’s just an invention that was made to make our lives more comfortable, a little less stressful, a little easier, and it’s great, but one drop in the bucket over and over and over again, a lot of things are making it harder for you to step out of that comfort and to tap into getting outside of your comfort zone and make things a little bit more challenging.

I used to have a background on my phone of a quote that said, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” And I must have had that on there for years. Now I have a Green Bay Packers logo or something that hasn’t changed in a while. But I remember having that,”Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” and it was just my daily reminder when I looked at my phone to do some hard things and not take the easy way out on things.. simply because that’s not always the best way to go about it.

So let me give you an example of getting outside of your comfort zone:

It’s cold outside but you need to get in your walk for the day. You could either..

1. Get in your warm car and drive to the gym to walk on the treadmill
2. Put a few layers on and walk outside in the 45 degree weather

I would be willing to bet that anytime you’ve stepped outside of your comfort zone, no matter how small it is, even though it’s a little difficult at first, you’ve never regretted making that decision after it’s all said and done, right?

It’s a little uncomfortable to push yourself in a workout and make yourself feel uncomfortable, but after that workout is over, do you regret doing it?

And I almost like to look at the ability to put yourself into good stressful situations and to get out of your comfort zone like a muscle that you can flex.

The more bicep curls you do, if you’re using weight that’s challenging, probably the stronger and more endurance your biceps muscle is going to get. I feel like the same thing is true for getting out of our comfort zone. The more we do these little things, the more they feel like little wins and they stack on top of each other, it’s like a snowball or a domino effect in a positive direction. It makes it a little bit easier the next time because you can look back on the experiences that you’ve had before in these little instances where you push yourself just enough outside of your comfort zone to where you can say, “well, I’ve done that before, so I can do this! I’ve conquered that obstacle and jumped over that hurdle before, so I can do it this time.”

And what you can do is you can take on slightly larger and slightly larger challenges without it being extremely stressful or inconvenient. This is how I feel about getting into the sauna or getting into an ice bath. It’s exposing yourself and exposing your body to an in-the-moment stressful situation.

It’s hot, it’s sweaty, it’s hard to breathe or it’s cold and it takes your breath away. It’s uncomfortable to sit there, but you feel better afterwards. And in the moment it’s a little stressful and it’s uncomfortable, but then afterwards, you’re like, “I’m glad I did that.”

Get out there and do hard things.

Get out of your comfort zone. No matter how small or big that is. Whether it’s from an exercise standpoint. Whether it’s for doing something spontaneous with your spouse or significant other. Whether it’s asking that person out on a date that you’ve been avoiding because it’s a little scary.

Push yourself outside of that comfort zone. And I believe that you will probably be glad you did when it’s all said and done and not have any regrets about it.

The post Life Begins at the End of your Comfort Zone appeared first on Physio Room.