3. Comfort zone

Subject title Comfort zone

Purpose of the activity To introduce participants with the concept and meaning of the “comfort zone”, the importance of defining the limits of psychological comfort for the human psyche, and to provide tools to consciously accept and process psychological reactions that occur in pursuit of personal goals.

Duration 2-4 hours.

Location and tools The presentation requires a projector, writing board, paper and writing tools for participants, tables, chairs, coloured adhesive tape (in order to mark the levels of comfort zones in space).

Number of participants 15-30 participants.

Acquaintance/ team building methods Comfort zone‘s circles are depicted on the floor in the selected way:

The leader of the session briefly describes their meanings (says they will get more information about all that during the session) and asks to intuitively choose a zone where each participant feels he/she is at the present stage of his/her life. Is your life’s daily routine usual and safe or do phenomena take place on a daily basis that make you feel insecure and outside your comfort zone?

Participants are given one minute to choose a circle that is relevant to them, and then everyone is invited to introduce himself/herself and briefly explain why they chose this particular circle and how it is reflected in their daily routine. comfort zone

optimal performance zone danger zone

Practical tasks

Task “Challenge Marathon“

All participants are divided into groups of seven to ten people. Each group is provided with a to do list of five necessary tasks. The list can be compiled taking into account the specifics of the settlement in question, the specificity of the target group of young people being worked with, and the like. The following list of tasks is possible: • to organize a public campaign; • to sing a well-known song with the whole group on public transport; • to visit and cheer somehow one relative or friend of any group member; • to take a photo of ten people, an animal, a woman with a trolley, a child under ten years old, and a monument; • to shoot a one minute video in which all members of the group jump with a jump-rope.

Practical tasks Groups of participants are given an hour to complete all the tasks and are asked to record their performance with video cameras and cameras. The session‘s leader is waiting for the participants in the activity space. When participants complete the tasks and return, the performance of the tasks which consists of the following parts, is discussed: 1. Each group presents the results of their tasks. 2. Participants are asked to share what they did well when performing a particular task. What led to this success? 3. Participants are asked to share what was more difficult when performing a particular task. What determined these challenges? 4. When did participants feel safe enough (in their comfort zone), and what actions they took made them think that they had been acting beyond their comfort zone? 5. Which individuals were the group leaders, how was the teamwork distributed? What factors led to this particular division of responsibilities? 6. Participants are asked to tell how they felt while performing the tasks. What did they learn about themselves?

End of session reflection methods By „checking out“ of the session, each participant is asked to remember all the activities and while walking through the zones to tell how he/she felt: in which parts of the activity he/she has found his/her comfort zone, in which parts – his/her optimal safety zone, and in which parts – the danger zone, and why.

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comfort zone

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THEORETICAL INFORMATION

It has long been thought that the brain does not change from childhood and remains static. However, scientific discoveries in recent decades have confirmed that the human brain is indeed flexible and adaptive. This ability was called neuroplasticity.

How does neuroplasticity work? If we imagine that our brains are an integral energy system, we will see that there are many “electrical tracks” here that turn on every time we think, act, or feel. Some of these tracks are well developed, i.e., it is easy for the brain to send signals, and we call that habits. On some tracks, those signals move slower and harder.

So every time when we expand our range of habits by thinking, feeling or acting differently than usual, new signals’ tracks are forming in our brains. The discomfort caused by this process can be well noticed when reading a new complex text, seeing an incomprehensible formula, reading a hard-to-understand scientific article, or learning a new language. Sometimes you just want to close a book or turn off your computer screen because new information seems unknowable and annoying. We can also feel the inner discomfort of a unique shade when we try to introduce a new healthy habit to our lifestyle – to exercise or change our diet. It can often seem as if something inside us is constantly trying to get us back to an older and usual lifestyle mode.

In this case, there is nothing unusual – the brain always strives to simplify its work and functions as much as possible as it is easier for it to function ordinarily. That’s why it’s so hard to stay faithful to a new, seemingly healthy habit. In order to understand better how the brain feels as we try to instil in them a new habit instead of the old one, it’s worth remembering the snow furrows that are left by the wheels of a car. When the first car is driving on a snowbound road, it is far from easy to break forward – it takes a lot of effort, sometimes the car gets stuck and one needs to find a better road.

It is namely this position for which we program our brains when we try to instil in them something new. But in the long run, even more cars start driving through the

same furrows, and the road becomes quite comfortable to drive. This reflects the well-trodden habit tracks mentioned above. And finally a car arrives, which suddenly tries to turn to the side or to turn around completely in the middle of the road, in the middle of these already well-known furrows. It will be quite difficult to do that.

It has been scientifically proven that the brain is able to remain adaptive and neuroplastic until old age. This means that throughout life we can learn, change and shape those new impulse tracks in our brains and enjoy a full life.

COMFORT ZONE

Based on the above facts, in the further course we can better understand the well-known concept of “comfort zone”, which is usually associated with a set of certain routine actions, thoughts and feelings which remains unchanged and means stability and security for us. When going beyond this security and performing unusual, new actions, a person psychologically enters a whole new reality, in which he/she loses the stability and security he/she once had and is forced (or a person does so consciously and forces himself/herself) to adapt to new conditions. There are three levels of the comfort zone model, each of which reflects a certain “set of elements” of inner well-being. elements. Such an element may be a new task at work, a new team member, a changed place of residence. Once a person finds himself/herself in this zone, he/she is already experiencing some psychological pressure and discomfort, but this does not yet cause significant stress.

3. Danger zone – a zone of high psychological stress, when a person is thrown out of his/her usual circumstances and is forced to adapt to completely new conditions without being prepared for it. These can include moving to another city or another country, unexpected job loss without a pre-arranged plan, implementation of a business idea without the necessary skills and knowledge.

Of course, for each person, these zones will distribute differently depending on the specific personality’s experience, knowledge and skills available. But one thing can be said for sure – once you have experienced a certain amount of stress in the zones of optimal security or danger, this is how a person expands his/her usual comfort zone. This is because it is likely that after experiencing a certain experience for the second or third time, it ceases to be dangerous as appropriate patterns of behaviour and habits manage to form.

your comfort zone where the magic happens

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1. Comfort zone – this level consists of usual actions, thoughts, feelings. Usual spaces that are already explored, well-known people, regime, sequence of daily actions. There is nothing unexpected and unforeseen.

2. Optimal security zone – it contains more unusual Thus, in terms of personal growth and development, there is no doubt that new opportunities, the realization of dreams, learning and the development of brain neuroplasticity are taking place precisely in zones of optimal security and danger, which one should sometimes not be afraid to enter. After all, after stress and tension subside, there comes a moment when an individual can enjoy his/her learning achievements and the new courage and experience he/ she has gained.

FEAR OR INNER RESISTANCE?

It is also important to highlight that in the modern world, the challenge of overcoming the comfort zone is already becoming almost one of the most popular clichés and secrets of success, but this does not always lead to positive results. In some cases, people who are

constantly pressured to to step out of their comfort zone and take on new challenges and activities, immerse themselves in work without sparing themselves or constantly want to change something in their lives. And, in general, it is safe to assume that nowadays getting out of the comfort zone has already become an inevitable routine. So it’s not so important to talk about getting out of the comfort zone as it is important to talk about conscious recognition when one should actually step into a danger zone.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE AND IS IT WORTH DOING IT?

When working with young people, it is important to help them understand what hinders (if hinders) them from taking potential actions, seeing opportunities, goals, changes. Usually, most people experience fear of something new when they hesitate about their capabilities, knowledge and skills, but if the ultimate goal remains important, then it is worth just facing that fear and overcoming it. However, in some cases, seeing potential opportunities can be hampered by internal resistance based on intrinsic values that prevent from taking a particular action. In this case, a person probably doesn’t need to leave the comfort zone. For example, why overcome your comfort zone by forcing yourself to make sales by persuading the people around you to buy a product if you are sincerely aware that this activity is not your favourite field and does not provide you any pleasure?

Thus, when helping young people to explore and overcome their comfort zone, the main mission of the youth worker is first and foremost to help them find out whether the goals and comfort risks they are setting for themselves are really important and significant to the young person’s own personality and to real, deeper goals.