Choose Expansion, Not Escape – A Better Way to Grow Your Comfort Zone

You’ve heard it before: Get out of your comfort zone. But what if that’s the wrong way to think about it?

In any kind of leadership role, you will experience some form of discomfort at some point. And being told “just do it” or “get over it” doesn’t actually help, and sometimes it makes you feel more stuck, not less.

Gayle Lantz offers a simple reframe that changes everything: the goal isn’t to leave your comfort zone. It’s to expand it.

There’s an important distinction there. Getting out implies escape, as though you are leaving something negative. It also implies you might be able to return at some point. Expansion, on the other hand, gradually shifts what feels natural, what feels normal, and ultimately what feels like you.

Drawing on a baseball analogy, Gayle challenges leaders to stop sprinting back to home plate and start getting comfortable on the whole field. Because every small step off the base changes what feels possible, and over time, the game itself starts to look different.

She also shares what this looks like in practice, from real moments in leadership workshops to the everyday choices that quietly build confidence from the inside out.

This episode covers:

• Why “get out of your comfort zone” can backfire and what to think instead.
• The key distinction between escaping discomfort and expanding what’s possible
• 5 practical ways to expand your comfort zone:
  • It starts with one small step, not a leap.
  • Choose it, don’t wait to be pushed, volunteer.
  • Repeat it, this is where real expansion happens.
  • Support it, find strength in other people who coach or encourage you. 
  • See it, visualize yourself succeeding, not just surviving.
• How expanding your own comfort zone helps your team grow, too.