Comfort Zone vs. Your Potential

Consider the butterflies in your stomach before delivering a speech or taking a test. Your subconscious is attempting to persuade you that you are about to make a mistake or withdraw from the situation. Your nervous system is hardwired for comfort, not growth. Your soul is hardwired for growth (Sage, 2020). You may want to change, but your nervous system stops you from doing so. Your nerves and emotions instinctively want to protect you, even if that means holding you back from doing something you know that you’re prepared for. Even though you know the speech that you’re about to deliver is amazing or that you studied hard all week, your unconscious mind is trying to tell you differently. This doubt causes you to become anxious, and if you continue the negative thoughts about your speech or test, they may end up becoming true. Anxiety is a real and valid feeling. However, you will never rise above the opinion of yourself (Sage, 2020). This quote is one that you should live by every day. When you find yourself doubting your actions, achievements, goals, or dreams, no one will be able to convince you otherwise. You cannot have a fixed mindset while also being aware of your unconscious mind. Your opinion about you matters more than anything anyone else has to say.

What do you want to concentrate your efforts on? That's correct; you have the option of choosing what you want to concentrate on. It is extremely important that you don’t waste your time and energy on things that are unnecessary. You need that power to deal with people and events that really do matter. It takes an immense amount of energy to get through the day as it is. Peter Sage said that there are three steps to working on yourself:

1. Stop putting the wrong things in

2. Start putting the right things in

3. Get the things that shouldn’t be there out

As a culture, we often put up with things because we believe we are obligated to do so. We have little influence over many aspects of our lives; thus, it is critical to comprehend the power of our unconscious brains. Breakaway from the same old pattern you follow every day and try something new. Try anything that makes you happy or that makes you grin to see how it works. After all, you’ll never know if you don’t try. Stop complying with the social conventions that are imposed on you. Unless you absolutely must, you are under no need to turn on the news tomorrow morning. Go grab a cup of coffee instead of sticking to your regular timetable. Your unconscious mind tends to conform to whatever society wants it to. It is good practice to start asking yourself if you’re doing something for you, or for someone else.

Venturing outside of your comfort zone is related to panic, and panic is associated with stepping outside of your comfort zone. Sidhu & Deletraz (2015) stated that a comfort zone is “a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk” (p. 2). You must learn to strike a balance between your current level of comfort and your potential. Remove the uncertainty that has been lurking in the back of your mind and live up to the potential that you possess. You can only choose how you want to be programmed (Sage, 2020). You may notice that there is a main theme throughout this entire essay. Will you choose to follow cultural conventions, or will you choose to take control of your life and the way you think?

Wilson (2019) wrote that “Increasing self-awareness means discovering the unconscious origins of our everyday behavior” (p. 69). As someone who suffers from anxiety, I am always engaged in a war with my subconscious mind. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing that comes to mind is everything that could possibly go wrong that day. Over the last several weeks, I've been striving to confront my unconscious mind and truly think about why I'm so hesitant to get out of bed in the morning. Bargh (2014) said, “People often make decisions without having thought about them consciously” (p. 32). We are so quick to make decisions that we often make them without thinking it through, or even by thinking about it too much and overthinking. I may not be able to totally eradicate my anxiety, but I can do everything in my power to reduce its intensity. It may take more brainpower and conscious thinking, but I will be more relaxed by the end of the day because I made decisions for the betterment of myself. Peter Sage’s TEDx Talk, “How to Eliminate Self Doubt Forever & The Power of Your Unconscious Mind,” was a bit hard for me to watch at first. Even though I took notes on it, I was unable to completely comprehend what Sage was attempting to convey since I have a fixed attitude when it comes to dealing with fear. I had to watch the video twice and read the transcript once to take in all the information fully. Anxiety is a tough mental ailment to cope with, which makes it an even more difficult task for me to go out of my comfort zone when I get anxious. If, on the other hand, viewing the news causes me to worry, I may choose not to turn on the television. It is possible to make the most of my day by getting an iced latte before entering the classroom if I am dreading coming to class. This may sound simple, but mental illness is a real thing that affects the way your brain works. As stated by Bargh (2014), “To make our way in the world, we need to learn to come to terms with our unconscious self” (p. 33). To summarize what I mentioned previously, control what you can control to make the things you can't control more acceptable. This practice takes time to master, but there are many resources out there that will help you to be successful. The good news is that there are people in this world who don’t live by the law of conformity, making it easier for you to learn about your full potential.

Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Make yourself an inspiration. Change yourself for the betterment of you. Don’t push yourself to the panic zone, but push yourself to the learning zone. You don’t have to take gigantic steps in order to be successful. Your actions can be moderated by you because even a little bit goes a long way. Start off by making one mindset change a day, and eventually it will become a habit. Take advantage of the fact that you were able to get out of bed this morning and make the most of what you have. Anticipate the day so that you can grow and be the best version of yourself. You’ve most likely heard the saying, “Treat others as you want to be treated.” With that rule being said, it’s time to treat yourself the way you treat others. If you wouldn’t say it to someone else, then you shouldn’t say it to yourself. Sometimes we are our biggest enemy and bully. Eliminate self-doubt forever so that you can be your best ally. Take what you learned in this essay and find the median between your comfort zone and your potential.

References

• Bargh, J. A. (2014). Our unconscious mind. Scientific American, 310(1), 30-37.

• How To Eliminate Self Doubt Forever & The Power of Your Unconscious Mind | Peter Sage | TEDxPatras. (2020). YouTube. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://youtu.be/v1ojZKWfShQ.

• Sidhu, I., & Deletraz, P. (2015, June). Effect of comfort zone on entrepreneurship potential, innovation culture, and career satisfaction. In 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (pp. 26-575).

• Wilson, S. (2019). The power and influence of the unconscious mind. Coaching Supervision, 53-71.