HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — We have all heard the saying, "Get outside your comfort zone." But one author believes doing that actually keeps you stressed out.
"Step out of your comfort zone was an adage that I lived for half of my life. And while it brought me success, it also brought me bouts of burnout," explained author Kristen Butler
Kristen Butler founded the "Power of Positivity" 14 years ago, and her website now has over 50 million followers globally. Butler tells ABC Action News anchor Wendy Ryan that the concept helped transform her life after hitting rock bottom.
"So many things just fell apart around me. And I literally couldn't get out of bed for two weeks straight. Like my body just couldn't even get up. I didn't care about brushing my teeth, calling a friend or a loved one. I literally had two choices in that moment was to give up entirely or to try something new," said Butler.
That something new led Butler to improve her life through the power of positivity. And now helps others achieve success without stress by evaluating the "Three Zones of Living." The first one is the complacent zone.
"This is the zone of inaction. In fact, we've probably worked so hard that we've pushed ourselves to this place. And this might be where we feel depressed, anxious, you know, we feel like the world is difficult or hard, and we just kind of are trying to make it day by day, right?" explained Butler.
The second is the survival zone, which Butler says is the zone of overaction. This is where we are hustling and not taking time for ourselves. And the third is the comfort zone. This is the key to reducing chronic stress and living a more fulfilling life.
"We're taking action, of course, but we're also prioritizing our own needs. And so, innately, we want new experiences; we want to expand and grow. So that is comfortable to us. And so we might try new things. But we pace ourselves. We don't force ourselves; we're not overdoing it. And so this is the place we want to get to, this very balanced place," said Kristen.
Butler's website has a free quiz to determine what "Life Zone" you are in and a way to change your life in 3 minutes or less.
She also has a new book, "The Comfort Zone: Create a life you really love with less stress and more flow." You can find more information on all of that here.
