Optimal Learning Exists Between Comfort and Panic
One the most powerful ideas that we used at Dev Bootcamp was the “three zones.” These zones were so fundamental to our immersive learning program that we introduced them to our students during their first day. I will provide an overview of the zones, and then dig deeper into the nuances and dynamics that exist between and within them.
Comfort
We are all familiar with our comfort zone. It’s not just a comfortable place where we eat yummy food, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, watching our favorite show. It’s also a place where we are doing things we are already very good at. For one person, that might mean walking from one couch to another, for another it might mean riding a bike on a smooth path, for another it might mean hiking up over a mountain pass, and for another, their comfort zone might include skiing down what most people would consider a frighteningly steep slope. The comfort zone, like the other two zones, is relative. Each of us has our own unique three zones, and starting with the comfort zone, each zone contains the previous one.
Stretch
At the edge of our comfort zone is a boundary. Beyond that edge, we become uncomfortable. Beyond that edge, we leave some aspect of our competency behind. Each step beyond that edge is another step toward a likely mistake, a bruised knee, a bruised ego, or a sense of not belonging. We call this zone the stretch zone. The stretch zone is a magical zone full of discomfort. This is where learning happens. If we’re paying attention, it’s the place where we grow. This zone is formally called the zone of proximal development (ZPD).
Panic
Just like each of us has a boundary between our comfort and stretch zones, there is also a boundary at the edge of the stretch zone. Each step beyond our stretch zone takes us deeper into the panic zone. The panic zone is where learning stops.
Now, in the context of Dev Bootcamp, “panic zone” is a good name for this zone. Dev Bootcamp students were explicitly entering an immersive learning experience, surrounded by a cohort of fellow students, a cadre of focused teachers, and a relentless curriculum, including assessments that determined whether or not they could stay in the program. That environment provided good preparation for future roles where our alumni are under pressure to learn new things in order to do their jobs, or to progress in their careers. We can certainly feel panicked when we are stretched beyond our limits at work or in our personal life.
Saturation
In less intense contexts, one could simply call the panic zone the “saturation zone.” If you think of a person as a sponge, the comfort zone is where you dry out, feeling nice and warm. The stretch zone is where you are soaking up moisture. And the saturation zone is where you can’t actually hold another drop, like a saturated sponge. You’ve gone from “soaking it up” to being disconnected from whatever it is you’re interacting with. If you’re saturated while reading or coding, you’re lost. If you’re saturated while biking or hiking or skiing, you’re in danger. When you’re saturated, you may not be panicking, but you’re unable to process any new information.
Self-care
It was important to name these three zones so that our students (and all of us) could be more mindful of which zone we were in at any given moment. A greater awareness of comfort, stretch, and panic, allows for better self-care. When done correctly, self-care leads to optimal learning experiences.
To optimize our learning, we want to maximize the time we spend in the stretch zone, a place that is by definition, uncomfortable. “Self-care” in this context does not mean avoiding discomfort. It means that you’re aware of when you cross into the comfort zone or the panic zone, and you take deliberate steps to re-enter the stretch zone as soon as possible. If you’ve wandered into the panic zone, you may need to take a walk to clear your mind, or a power-nap to recharge. If you’ve slipped into the comfort zone, you may need to find a supportive peer to hold you accountable to make progress. Spend too much time in either comfort or panic, and you will either stagnate or burn out. Practice self-care to stay uncomfortable and grow.
Psychological Safety
The stretch zone is clearly uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean it has to be uncomfortable in every way. Just because you’re intellectually uncomfortable doesn’t mean you need to feel psychologically uncomfortable or unsafe. Invest in a nurturing environment of psychological safety to allow people to stay in the stretch zone longer, hence accelerating people’s learning.
In my experience, the most effective way to create a psychologically safe environment is to create a community where people are encouraged to be their whole selves, where they can bring more and more of their full personality into the presence of their peers. The most expedient way to create a community like that is for community leaders to be authentic, and therefore, vulnerable. Leaders must demonstrate being in their stretch zones, being open about that, owning their inevitable mistakes, and sharing what they’re learning with the community.
Meta-Learning
While it’s critical to focus on learning whatever knowledge you are pursuing, if you are someone who wants to repeat and improve upon this process, spend some time learning how to learn. A simple yet powerful lever toward meta-learning is being aware of the three zones, and accepting that learning is uncomfortable. With sufficient practice and awareness, it’s actually possible to become more comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Being conscious of the discomfort before you enter the stretch zone provides you with the space to realize what you’re experiencing rather than simply struggling up the learning curve. Becoming skilled at learning will allow you to have more endurance in the stretch zone!
Surface Area
Consider a tiny comfort zone. By definition, it has few points of contact with the outside world. Let’s say this tiny zone represents someone who does not yet know how to read. There are very few concepts related to reading that someone like this can interact with. The only concepts accessible to them are letters and sounds. And so they learn about these confusing letters and how they map to sounds, stretching their comfort zone in the process. The person eventually learns to read, and practices reading simple, short stories. They stretch and stretch, and again, their comfort zone grows. Years go by as the person reads more and more challenging material, they even read about reading itself. The surface area of their comfort zone grows immense, and the now-expert reader repeatedly experiences that humbling “the more I learn, the more I realize how much there is to learn” phenomenon. When we are in the stretch zone, what we are ultimately stretching is our comfort zone. As our comfort zone grows, the more opportunities we have to explore new territory, the more aware we become of the vast reaches of human knowledge, experience, and possibilities.
Privilege
Each of us has a unique amount of genetic, familial, socioeconomic, or cultural privilege. Some of us have an in-born intelligence that others of us do not possess. Some of us were raised in an amazingly tranquil and supportive home, while others of us were raised in terror and chaos. Some of us identify with the dominant majority of our society, while others of us are marginalized, passed over, and/or oppressed by what “normal” looks and behaves like. Some of us were born into wealthy countries, and others of us were born into countries that are just getting started. Whatever amount of privilege you have in any given moment will determine the height of your stretch zone.
Why does the height of your stretch zone matter? Because at the edge of your stretch zone is panic and saturation. If you are worried about where your next meal will come from, you are more likely to enter the panic zone than someone who is consistently well fed, all else being equal. If your general intelligence is off the charts, you will find that you can grow your intellectual comfort zone rapidly compared to peers with less intelligence, all else being equal. And if you are naturally athletic, you are less likely to panic than your peers when you are physically stretched beyond your comfort zone, all else being equal. All of these examples of privilege allow you to stay in your stretch zone longer than if you didn’t possess that privilege.
Necessity
While privilege makes it easier to stretch longer, there’s nothing like hunger to get you stretching sooner. The other side of the coin of privilege is that you tend to have less motivation to leave your comfort zone. Necessity is the mother of invention, and inventions happen in the stretch zone!
I hope that this overview of the “three zones” will help you be more mindful of which zone you occupy at any given moment. If you are interested in optimizing for growth, meditate on your zones. Being aware of the zones, particularly the panic zone, where our brain eventually starts shutting down, will help you recover, readjust, and re-enter the stretch zone as soon as you’re ready.
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