Are you stuck in your comfort zone?

Do you play it safe or take reckless risks? Take our quiz – it could be the change you were looking for

We’re living in unsettled times, so now may not seem right for a leap of faith. ‘But if you don’t take chances, your life won’t change,’ says life coach Julia Armstrong (www.ultraperformance.co.uk). Of course, compulsively throwing yourself into new things could in itself be a way of escaping from difficulties in your life rather than dealing with them – but sometimes taking a chance and trying something different can be just what you need. Don’t expect it to be easy though. ‘It’s called a comfort zone for a reason, and getting out of it can feel painful,’ points out Armstrong.
Answer our questions, right, to work out how snugly you’re tucked under your security blanket. Try to imagine each situation, or think back to a time in your life when something similar was going on for you, and consider how you reacted.

For each question, think about your reactions to the scenario described, and score yourself 1-4 points with:1=very unlikely, 2=quite unlikely, 3=somewhat likely, 4=very likely.

You’re fed up with your job and long for a new career. A friend points out a full-time course that you could do, and suggests you just leave your job and throw yourself into it. Would you?
For the last year, your relationship’s been difficult and you’re having to face the hard facts – it isn’t working. Will you end it?
It’s one thing after another at the moment – life just doesn’t seem to be working out. You’ve lost your job, been through a divorce, and have a dull social life. Your friend has recently decided to up sticks and move abroad. Would you ever do the same?
A new colleague is going away for a long weekend, and the friend who was going to accompany her has dropped out. Impulsively, she asks you if you’d like to join her, even though you barely know each other. Would you go?
Your sister has been through a difficult time, and has just rung to tell you she’s embarked on a wild affair with a much younger man. How likely is your reaction to be positive?

The results

If you scored 5-10:
You’re in the comfort zone
You’re risk-averse, and it probably comes from early experiences. You may have grown up around parents who disliked taking chances, and you have learned to behave that way too – or maybe they took risks which backfired, and you’re scared of repeating those patterns. You may be naturally anxious, or were bullied at school, leaving you scared of standing out. Staying in your comfort zone can keep you safe, but also unfulfilled. Try to take some well-judged risks. You’ll never be the type to leap without looking, but experiment with some reasonably safe risk-taking.

If you scored 11-15:
You take balanced risks
You will do something different if an area of your life isn’t working out – but only after you’ve considered it in great detail. Either your parents behaved this way, or you’ve learnt your risk-taking style through your own experiences – you may be a natural risk-taker, but have been stung by taking chances that haven’t worked out. Your style of risk-taking is generally a good one – you’re not too reckless, but you don’t tend to get stuck in a rut either.

If you scored 16-20:
You’re a reckless risk-taker
You’re impulsive, and it may be down to your brain chemistry. Research, including a study from Cambridge University, has suggested the chemical dopamine plays a role – those with lower levels may be more impulsive. But it could, in part, be learned behaviour. Some risks are bound to work out, so you could reap some big rewards for your behaviour, but you’re also in danger of putting yourself on the line financially, emotionally, even physically. Try pressing pause and considering situations before taking a chance – you may find you take fewer risks.

Compiled by Charlotte Haigh