Hi and welcome to another episode of The Travel Transformation podcast. I'm your host, Jess, and today is going to be a quick solo episode, talking all about comfort zones and why you should leave them.

I talk about this a lot in my books, especially my most recent book, Intentional Travel Transformation. You can find out more about that at traveltransformationcoach.com/books, and yeah, it's always been a big thing with me because, like many people, I like my comfort zone. It's comfortable. That's the whole point.

When I think of comfort zones these days, like my own personal comfort zone, I think of… I don't know if you know the brand Celestial Seasonings tea. They're American. They're based in Boulder. So when I lived in Boulder, Colorado, for a year at uni, I really got into Celestial Seasonings tea. I went around the tea factory tour a couple times – I've been a couple times since – and every time I buy out their entire gift shop. 

And, yeah, one of their main teas is called Sleepytime tea, obviously caffeine-free, for the evening. And their mascot is the Sleepytime Bear. And it's this really cute little drawing of a bear in a nightgown. I think he's got a nightcap on. He's in an armchair, he's in front of a fire. He's got his cup of Sleepytime tea. There's a cat sleeping next to him. And it's just cosy – like a cosy, comfortable, familiar scenario. 

And it's comfortable to us because it's familiar. We know what's up. We know what's going on in our comfort zone. We know nothing weird or new or scary is going to happen. And I really like the idea of a comfort zone. 

Sleepytime Bear looks like he's having a great time all the time, but that's where the trap comes in, because it becomes so familiar and so nice and cosy and warm that you never leave it. And if you never leave it, sure, you can have a nice cosy time in front of the fire for your whole life, but do you really want just that? Do you not want more adventure, more excitement, all that good stuff? And you don't learn things about yourself or other people or the world, you don't grow, you don't get to that next level, if you never leave your comfort zone. So, as nice and cosy as it might be, and as much as I want the Sleepytime Bear to be my best friend, it's not good for us in the long term. 

So I want to talk about comfort zones a bit on this episode. And sorry if it feels a bit disjointed when you're listening to this. I've got a cold, so I keep having to stop the audio to sneeze and then come back to start recording again. So if it seems a bit disjointed, that's why.

I just want to point out that I did an interview recently with Violetta Znorkowski, which I really enjoyed, and in that we talk quite a bit about comfort zones, but also how to leave your comfort zone in a healthy way, and that is episode 94. So if you go to traveltransformationcoach.com/94, you'll find that. 

I've also done several episodes on my Flip the Script challenge that I did, which was a whole challenge about getting outside my comfort zone and doing things that scared me. So I will put these links in the show notes as well, but those are episodes 24 to 27. And again, you can put traveltransformationcoach.com and then the number, and you'll get all the links, show notes, and transcripts for each episode, so you can check those out, too. 

So, like I said, your comfort zone is that cosy space where everything feels familiar and safe. I think safe is the word I was looking for. It's your comfort bubble, and it's great and it's lovely and it's nice, but nothing truly transformative can ever happen inside it. It just can't happen.

So it's when we step out of this bubble and embrace the unknown, embrace the scary things, that growth starts to happen. So we can think about it as a kind of metaphorical gym for your mind, body, and soul. When we challenge ourselves, face new experiences, just do new things – even if they're not scary, overcome obstacles, even little things – we're essentially giving ourselves a workout that strengthens our resilience, our adaptability, and most importantly – for me, anyway – confidence. 

Now, obviously, I'm a travel enthusiast – as you probably know, or you probably guessed from the title of this podcast – so I can't help but connect this to our trips, to our journeys, to travel, because I think travel is such a powerful catalyst for many things, but it is inevitable that when we travel, we leave our comfort zones. It just happens. We get exposed to new cultures, new perspectives, new ways of seeing things, new challenges.

But I say this a lot. It doesn't mean you have to get on a plane and go halfway around the world. It could be driving half an hour and joining a new club that you've never been to, meeting new people, trying new things, taking up a new hobby, or even just talking to a stranger – if, like me, you're not a natural talker, if you're quite introverted and shy. 

So the key to stepping outside your comfort zone is to keep challenging yourself. And that means different things for different people.

Like I said, it could mean talking to a stranger. It could mean bungee jumping, it could mean solo travelling halfway around the world. It could mean going down the road and joining a Meetup group of strangers – that could be scary to you. And I get it, believe me. I know it can be intimidating, I know it can be scary. But that's kind of the whole point. 

And I like to think of it as… I have my little comfort zone with my Sleepytime Bear friend, my cat or my dog or whatever, the fire, a nice cup of tea, cake probably, maybe your comfort show on in the background. Gilmore Girls or something, or Schitt's Creek, on in the background. And I like to think that you always have that. That's always a place you can come back to. 

It doesn't mean that you have to step outside your comfort zone and then you're locked out forever. You're just, like, looking in through the window, and you can see Sleepytime Bear next to the fire, and you're like, ‘No! Why did I leave?!’ It doesn't have to be like that. You can leave. You can put your toe out the door. You can try something new, and you can come back. You can retreat.

And the more you do that, the more you try new things, the less scary it will be and the more time you'll be spending outside of that comfort zone. But it's still always there to go back to in the end. 

Like I say, it's where growth and learning comes from when you leave it, and also where you get your magical movie moments, which I talk about a lot. And you can go to episode 62, I believe – How to Create Magical Movie Moments on the Road – to hear more about that. And, yeah, guess what? You don't get magical movie moments when you're just stuck in your comfort zone the whole time. It just isn't possible.

Okay, so let's get back to what I was talking about. I got sidetracked by the whole looking in through the window and seeing Sleepytime Bear. It's quite a sad image.

So what can we do? Here are some practical steps to help us leave our comfort zones. And, like I say, this will be different for each person. So I might say some things and you'll be like, well, that's not stretching myself. That's not challenging myself at all. But you just need to apply it to yourself and think of what stretches you. 

And, again, the Flip The Script challenge that I did, which was this whole catalyst for my whole travel transformation journey, if you go back and listen to those, it's also a mini course in my Travel Transformation Academy. You can go to traveltransformationcoach.com/academy to find out more about that and join up, where I take you through the whole thing. You can read my entire journal that I did throughout the 30 days. You can see examples, all that good stuff. 

So, I just wanted to give you a few ideas that you could try now, this week, today maybe, to start putting yourself outside your comfort zone. And like I say, they're little things, but the little things add up. So you could try a new recipe. This might sound like absolutely nothing to some of you, but for some of us who are not so great in the kitchen – me – this sounds terrifying.

I just hate cooking, I really do. I know some people find it very relaxing, they find it very fun, they love feeding people, they love sharing their love through food and that's a wonderful thing, but if I tried that I would probably poison people or it would just not go down very well. I've come to terms with this.

I felt bad. Like, being in coliving houses, we do family dinners and you have to be part of the cooking team. And at the start, I was really embarrassed. I was like, I can't cook, this is embarrassing. I'm like 36, 37, I should know how to cook. 

But then I've sort of got used to it and been like, you know what, cooking is not my thing. Just like writing might not be someone else's thing or podcasts might not be someone's thing, or sports might not be someone's thing. You can't help it. 

I don't want to spend the time learning it. It stresses me out. I think, oh, this is going to take three hours to make this meal. I could be having fun instead, doing something I actually like, or I could be being productive and getting work done, and it's just not for me.

That was a massive random tangent, but I think that's important because I know a lot of people who feel embarrassed about stuff they can't do and not everyone can do everything, so you shouldn't be embarrassed about that. 

So for me, trying a new recipe, especially if I was cooking for like a group of people, that would be definitely stepping outside my comfort zone, and it's a sort of easy thing to do in the grand scheme of things. You just need to go and buy some ingredients, pick a recipe, and try not to burn the kitchen down. Anyway…

Number two is: take a different route. So if you do go out to work, I know a lot of people don't these days, but if it's on your commute to work or if you go for a walk usually, but you just go a different route, just take a different path. There are so many places in my hometown that I've never even been. Like, so many streets I've not even walked down. And it's just taking a different route, doing something different. 

It might not seem like a huge thing, but then that can get your brain sort of working in the direction of, huh, maybe I should try different things in other areas, too. And yeah, that's number two. Take a different route.

Three, like I mentioned, start a conversation with a stranger. This might be different depending on where you live in the world. I've lived in America and that's totally normal to just talk to people as you go around and even smile at them and look them in the eye when you're on public transport and stuff.

What?! In England, if you go on the tube and someone looks you in the eye and smiles at you, I immediately think, oh my gosh, this person's a serial killer. What's wrong with them? So it's definitely a cultural thing, but this could be when you're waiting in line at a shop or you're just talking to someone in a queue – that's the same thing – I was trying to think of things in England where it wouldn't be totally… I've had people talk to me on trains and things, on planes…

Although, on planes, I usually just want to sleep or watch the movie. So maybe I'm not the best example for this, but this just proves that this could be something that we don't normally do. So if you do it and it goes well and you have a nice interaction with someone, then that's pretty cool.

Four is: learn a new skill, and this can be in person or online. So, like I say, Meetup.com is a great way of finding groups. I found a book club on there that I joined just before the pandemic, so it sort of died a little bit after that. We went online for a bit, but then it stopped. 

Just meeting new people, trying new things. Go to your local sports centre, see if there are any classes you want to take, all that good stuff. 

Number five is: volunteer in your community. So even if you don't know much about volunteering opportunities in your community, just give it a quick google. There'll always be something you can help out with, like soup kitchens, organisations that collect toys and things, especially around Christmas. This is a huge one. There could be a local charity you want to join, like an animal charity, children's charity, all kinds of amazing stuff.

My mom's in a band and she goes around care homes and elderly care wards in hospitals. So that's giving back to the community. So if you're musical, maybe consider something like that. There are so many things you can do. It usually just requires a time commitment rather than a financial commitment. 

So number six is to host a dinner party or a game night, something you wouldn't usually do. Invite the neighbours over. If you're not friends with your neighbours, like a lot of English people aren't – if non-English people are listening to this, I'm making us sound really bad. But it's just one of those things. 

So if you don't know your neighbours, that could be your thing to do. Stretch yourself outside your comfort zone. Invite them around for dinner, or if you don't cook, like me, a games night. And just provide snacks, something like that. 

Number Seven is to take a class. I mentioned this before in the learn a new skill. But if you go to a gym and you usually just go on your own, but you've never tried a fitness class, you can try those. You meet new people, and get outside your comfort zone physically and mentally.

Number eight: read a book outside your genre preferences. So again, this isn't a scary thing, but it's just getting your brain used to doing things that it normally wouldn't do. It's trying to break out of your normal pattern. So, if you always, always read fiction, try a nonfiction book, try an autobiography, try a business book or a self-development book. 

Try my book Intentional Travel Transformation, which you can get traveltransformationcoach.com/books – I didn't even mean to plug my own stuff there! But just when it happens naturally, it happens naturally. 

Or if you always read business and self-development books, try a bit of fiction. If you always read romance novels, try a bit of historical fiction or horror. Or just try something different. You might like it, you might love it. And again, it's just getting used to doing little things that get you out of your normal routine, push you slightly out of your comfort zone, so when you do the big things to get outside your comfort zone, it doesn't seem so weird to do it. 

Number nine is: explore your local area. Like I say, there are so many places in my hometown that I've never been to, and definitely in my home county, but especially when I'm travelling, there's plenty of scope to just walk around. And obviously check that they're safe areas, and if you're on your own, maybe don't go at night if you don't know where you're going, but just act like a tourist. 

There's nothing wrong with being a tourist. Just go to a museum, a park, historical site, or just wander around and see what gems you come across. Like I always find little cafes and cute little boutique shops when I'm just wandering around, not looking for anything in particular. 

And number ten is: attend a networking event, if you're in business, or if not, a meetup. Like I said before, there are all kinds of meetup groups these days. There are like, board game meetups, roleplay meetups, travel meetups, people who get together for like a weekend, go travelling, hiking meetups, movie meetups, people who go to the cinema together. If you don't have friends to go with regularly, you can join a group who go together. Book clubs, like I said, there are businessy ones, self-developmenty ones, and if you can't find one, then you can always start your own. 

It's so easy to start your own meetup group on meetup.com and see if anyone else is interested in stuff that you're interested in in your area. You'll meet new people, try new things, and like I say, it's just getting in that mindset, that mindset shift of leaving your comfort zone. Not doing the same old, same old stuff every day, doing little micro changes to do something different. 

Before you know it, you'll be doing huge things. And poor Sleepytime Bear, back in your cosy comfort zone, will be looking at his watch, being like, ‘Where is she? She hasn't been back for weeks!’ No, that's a horrible image as well! It's all right. He's got his cat and his cup of tea. 

So I'm going to stop rambling there before I start feeling really sad about a fictional Sleepytime Bear – although I do follow them on Instagram, and they actually have a full-on mascot now, like someone dressed as the Sleepytime Bear. They do quite funny reels around it, so check them out: Celestial Seasonings. 

And, yeah, remember, growth doesn't happen in the comfort zone. It happens when we take that leap into the unknown. And if you do start leaving your comfort zone, even in little bits, you'll get to the point where you can leave it and do big, amazing things. And that can transform your life – like it did with mine. Okay? 

So until next time, keep seeking those magical movie moments, keep stepping outside your comfort zone, safe travels, and I'll catch you on the flip side, bye!

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