Climbing Out of Our Comfort Zones: A Journey for Teachers and Students

Aug 02, 2024

Visualize a really tough hike—one where you encounter moments of doubt and fear, experience both mental and physical exhaustion, and have to take several breaks to catch your breath. Now, while an actual hike might make you uncomfortable, think of this as an analogy for any moment that pushes you out of your comfort zone. These experiences can leave you breathless, doubtful, fearful, and utterly exhausted. No wonder we often avoid it.

Sure, it can be nice to feel confident and experience predictability in our day-to-day experiences, but what about the experiences that teach us something brand new? Do those tend to stem from confidence and predictability? Or the moments where we surprise ourselves? What about the situations that prove us wrong? Aren't these the moments that change our lives?

Embracing discomfort can revitalize our thinking, weaken our doubt, and grow our confidence. Educators, specifically, are in a position of inspiring others; their job is to instill confidence and understanding within diverse, young minds. Consequently, this often requires them to continually reflect on their practices—possibly change up how they teach a skill or even alter material to be more relevant. Because of this, educators have to get comfortable going out of their comfort zone.

Now, what pushes us out of our comfort zone is unique and personal—below are simply examples of ways we can practice doing this:

MOVEMENT: Try a form of movement that you've been interested in but tend to avoid (Pilates, strength, yoga, etc.).
STRESS: If you've never tried, test out a few guided meditations (the app Insight Timer is a great place to start).
RELATIONSHIPS: Have the tough conversation you've been putting off.
CREATIVITY: Sign up for a lesson, purchase the guitar, or start writing that story you've been daydreaming about—kickstart the hobby you've been craving!
FINANCES: Set aside time to sort through your spending over the last month. Generate a list of the costs in different categories (food, entertainment, subscriptions, etc.), so that you actually know where your money is going.
MINDSET: Tackle self-doubt by challenging yourself to share one thing at a meeting or email someone the question you've been wondering.
TEACHING: Consider a skill you've taught the same way for a few years. How can you change this lesson or unit up a bit?

(All 12 Whole Teacher categories can be explored here depending on what pushes you out of your comfort zone.)

It's also really important to explore what pushes our students out of their comfort zones. Math might be that hike for a student. Writing might be that hike for a student. Speaking in front of other students might be that hike for a student. It's so significant to recognize the doubt, fear, and exhaustion that starts to spiral for some of them the moment they walk into a certain class or stand at the base of that mountain.

Sometimes, we might need to offer a little more patience and understanding as we walk alongside students up that mountain. But, we find ways to encourage them, step-by-step. We find ways to support them, step-by-step, until they have climbed to the top—until they have realized that they have gotten through their own discomfort and made it to the other side. That's when their confidence, understanding, and clarity really grow.

So, do the thing that makes you uncomfortable and help your students do the same. If we're not pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones, are we really growing at all?

Lauren Girgash