About
About the Stretch Zone
Welcome to The Stretch Zone Podcast, where each week we provide listeners with experienced insights on personal development in lifestyle and business. Our guests will include business owners and entrepreneurs, marketers, designers, personal trainers, business coaches and more.
So, why “The Stretch Zone”? What does it mean?
The ‘Stretch Zone’ is a model developed by Karl Rhonke, based on the Yerke’s-Dodson Law which in simple terms says we perform and learn best when there is a moderate level of pressure.
Most people are familiar with the concept of the comfort zone. It’s referred to all the time. Our Comfort Zone is where we are performing activities which are familiar and recognisable; it’s is our day-to-day area where we operate in an almost autopilot mode. On the other end of the spectrum is the Panic Zone – this is the area where we feel uncomfortable and anxious about an experience or performing an activity which seems intimidating. If you’ve never done it before, public speaking might well be pretty far into your Panic Zone. It could be going for a big job opportunity, moving out of home for the first time, even going to the gym if you’ve never been, or it could be investing money into starting a business. If you consider taking on an activity which falls into your panic zone, your brain comes right in and says “NOPE, AVOID, DO NOT DO THAT!” no matter how many times you have witnessed others being successful in doing it!
The problem with staying in our comfort zone is that we get too comfortable. We don’t challenge ourselves, and therefore we rarely build on our skills or grow our confidence. But in the Panic Zone, you use all of your energy controlling your anxiety and worry which is not helpful towards the goal of learning a new activity. This is where the Stretch Zone comes in. The Stretch Zone is the area just outside of your comfort zone – the area that can feel challenging and risky but isn’t so scary that it fills you with panic and anxiety. You feel a bit of pressure taking on this activity, you might be a little nervous at first. But once you’ve done it, guess what? It’s in your comfort zone now! You can do it again more confidently now, and thus your comfort zone expands, and your stretch zone grows wider than it was before.
To grow in your business or personal life, you have to push into your stretch zone. On The Stretch Zone Podcast we get together with special guest entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals each week to discuss their experiences in pushing to reach their goals, and what principles we can apply in our own lives to learn, grow and succeed. At the end of each episode will be an action for you to take to improve an area of your life or business, helping you step into YOUR stretch zone.