In my experience, travel is one of the fastest ways to break out of your comfort zone. My first solo trip was a weekend away in Lisbon, and while booking it felt like a huge leap of faith, I’ve never looked back.
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Meeting new people, experiencing different cultures, and navigating the nerves of doing something unfamiliar all help you overcome the mental barriers that hold you back from growing.
In this post, we’ll explore four key comfort zones that are meant to be broken. These zones, whether mental or physical, can limit your personal growth. By the end of this post, I hope you’ll feel empowered to step outside your comfort zone and explore somewhere new!
The Social Comfort Zone
The social comfort zone is the tendency to stick with familiar people—family, friends, or colleagues—and avoid starting new interactions. While it’s comfortable to stay within these circles, it limits your chances for new experiences.
This doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with long-term relationships, but travel throws you into situations where you need to meet new people. At first, it can feel daunting, but once you get into the rhythm of it, there’s no turning back.
Solo travel, in particular, can really push your social boundaries, but don’t worry—there are many ways of meeting people when solo travelling. From staying in social accommodations like hostels to something as simple as chatting with a bartender, there are plenty of ways to break out of this comfort zone.
My Experience
Chatting with a bartender helped me break out of my social comfort zone during a trip to Germany earlier this year. I spent a week visiting four cities, including a Wednesday night in Dresden. After attending a language exchange, I struck up a conversation with the bartender at my hostel.
We talked about clubbing and nightlife, and he mentioned a local venue called Groovestation, which hosts a special techno night on Wednesdays. I had never been to a techno event before, but I decided to step outside my comfort zone and give it a try. It turned into one of the best nights of my life!
The venue was small but exclusive, and the music has since led me to explore all kinds of new genres, including at Boomtown Festival. Needless to say, coming from an introvert at heart, getting out there and speaking to people can give you the best experiences!
Physical Comfort Zone
Breaking the physical comfort zone comes more naturally to some people than others. Some are happy to throw themselves off buildings with a parachute, or even jump out of planes without a parachute! But I’m not asking you to become an adrenaline junkie—just to push the boundaries of what you’re physically used to.
Going on a hike or trying an unfamiliar activity like scuba diving are great ways to seek new experiences and discover unknown hobbies. In the last year, I completed a couple of challenging hikes with friends. While they were physically demanding, reaching the peak of Snowdon and Pen Y Fan was incredibly rewarding.
These hikes are something most people can do and are a great way to start pushing yourself physically. If you’re curious about hiking in Wales, I’ve written a brief Wales hiking guide here.
My Experience
One of the most physically demanding (and terrifying) things I’ve ever done is abseil down The Spinnaker Tower. It was a gift from one of my grandparents, and the whole experience was a mixture of exhilaration and “Holy fuck, get me down right now!”
What it really showed me, though, is that I’m capable of stepping out of my physical comfort zone and accomplishing something that seemed impossible.
My brother joined me on the abseil, which was even more impressive since he’s uncomfortable with heights. Abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower is no small feat—it’s a 100m (328ft) challenge!
Cultural Comfort Zone
One of my favourite things about travel is seeing how other people live. My family has been into travelling for a while, so I’ve had the chance to visit other cultures from a young age.
Countries like Egypt have always been eye-openers, showing me just how different life can be in other parts of the world. It also made me appreciate the privilege of growing up in a relatively wealthy country like the UK.
Even when visiting more Westernised countries, I’ve noticed how different things can be. Take the United States, for example—at first glance, it might seem similar to the UK, but there are lots of differences. From small things like tipping culture to bigger issues like healthcare, the differences are striking.
Travelling abroad, whether to distant or nearby places, is the best way to break free from your cultural comfort zone. It opens your eyes to all sorts of unfamiliar encounters.
My Experience
While soaking up the atmosphere in Puerta del Sol, Madrid, I struck up a conversation with an old Spanish man from Valencia. He only spoke Spanish, and since my Spanish is very limited, it was a challenge. But we still managed to go for a drink and spent a couple of hours chatting at a local restaurant before I headed off to watch Real Madrid play that evening.
You could argue this falls under the social comfort zone, but without my interest in Spanish culture and my attempt to communicate, this experience wouldn’t have happened!
I even took a picture with him before we parted ways—he owns a restaurant in Valencia and invited me to visit. I haven’t made it there yet, but it’s on the list!
Mental Comfort Zone
The mental comfort zone is the foundation that holds all the other zones in place. It’s the barrier you need to break through to achieve everything else—whether it’s social, physical, or cultural growth.
This zone is all about fear—the fear that keeps you within your ‘safe’ boundaries. It convinces you to maintain the status quo because it’s familiar and comfortable, but it also stops you from growing.
What I always remind myself is that growth isn’t straightforward. There will be plenty of moments where you just have to say “f*ck it” and take that leap into the unknown, even when it feels uncomfortable.
Breaking through the mental comfort zone allows you to tackle the others—social, physical, and cultural. And the more often you push yourself, the more it becomes a habit!
My Experience
The most significant turning point in my travel journey was deciding to go solo for the first time. I chose a weekend away in Lisbon.
In the lead-up to booking the trip, it would have been easy to fall into the trap of thinking, “What if I don’t enjoy it?” or “What if I don’t meet anyone I like?” But I didn’t let those doubts hold me back. I told myself that if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have to do it again.
Needless to say, I had a blast in Lisbon. I stayed in a hostel, met a bunch of people and a couple of them are still friends to this day. What felt like a leap of faith turned into an experience that, looking back, I absolutely needed to have.
The key is to embrace the uncertainty that comes with travel. At the end of the day, no matter what happens, you’ll figure it out—even if you find yourself in a bit of a pickle!
Conclusion
If you’ve made it this far, it’s likely something inside you is ready to break out of its comfort zone.
The best advice I can offer, whether it’s for travel or anything else, is to go after the thing that scares you the most. I was nervous before my first solo trip, but it turned out to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
Don’t dwell on all the things that could go wrong—that’s just anxiety talking. It won’t always be easy, but then again, why should it be?
If you’re looking to start like I did, I’ve made a list of the best places to visit for first-time solo travel. While anywhere can give you a change of scenery, some destinations are perfect for easing into solo travel.
Thanks for reading, and safe travels!
