Overcoming the Comfort Zone to Conquer Oneself

Conquering oneself requires overcoming the comfort zone. Most of us tend to avoid difficulties when possible. However, we should try to conquer ourselves by doing something challenging every day.

The first reason is to avoid stagnation and regression.

If we only live in the comfort zone, people are prone to stagnation and even regression. The comfort zone is where we feel comfortable, but it can gradually shrink if we don’t face our fears.

For example, people with social communication problems often avoid contacting others. But the more they avoid, the more fearful they become when having to face it. Conquering oneself by stepping out of the comfort zone is the only way to expand and develop.

The second reason is that short-term difficulties will bring long-term benefits.

Despite current hardships, if persevered, difficulties will be rewarded accordingly. Only by going beyond the comfort zone can people reap positive results and conquer oneself.

For example, studying makes you feel stupid at the moment, but helps you become smarter over time by conquering new knowledge.

The final reason is that conquering oneself daily will create a positive feedback loop.

Overcoming a challenge, no matter how small, will motivate you to continue conquering other goals. Success will breed more success in conquering oneself. Thereby creating a positive feedback loop that helps us develop continuously by conquering new challenges.

So how do we move from the comfort zone to the growth zone?

There are 3 main ways to conquer oneself.

First is to increase frequency

For example exercising more days per week.

Second is to increase intensity.

Such as trying new, harder exercises or increasing running speed to conquer laziness.

Third is to extend duration.

For example running 10 minutes longer each time to conquer your limits.

The three methods above help increase challenge and hone skills to conquer oneself. However, we shouldn’t rush to apply all 3 at once, but gradually increase step by step to avoid overload.

Besides, it is not ideal to always be in the growth zone either, we need to rest in the comfort zone. This process is like a wave graph, expanding the comfort zone, then retracting to adapt, before expanding again to conquer new challenges. It allows the body to adapt to new demands before continuing the challenge of conquering oneself.

In general, instead of avoiding difficulties, each person should look for challenges to surpass their limits and conquer oneself. Only by continuously breaking barriers and comfort zones can people maximize their potential. Therefore, do something challenging today to conquer yourself and become a better version of yourself.