How to Leave Your Comfort Zone, Based on Your Enneagram Type

Most advice about “leaving your comfort zone” sounds suspiciously like a dare: book a last-minute flight, quit your job, or transform into an adrenaline junkie and take up skydiving. In reality, what feels risky or transformative is deeply personal, and often shaped by our underlying motivations and fears.

The Enneagram can help explain these patterns. Each type has its own way of seeking safety, whether that’s finding comfort in routine or spontaneity, and each type has its own habits that make change feel difficult and quietly keep us from trying anything new. 

Patterns like these run deep, but each Enneagram type has its own way of breaking out, and even a small, well-chosen shift can unsettle old habits.

Type One: Listen to Another Perspective

Ones often invest a lot of effort in building a belief system that feels solid and reliable. Questioning those beliefs can feel risky, especially when so much of your sense of right and wrong is tied up in them. You may associate your opinions with “goodness” and see others’ views as less “good.” It’s easy to see disagreement as a sign of ignorance, or that others haven’t done the same values-building work as you. 

Challenge yourself: Have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you on an important topic. For example, if you have strong opinions about environmental policy, talk to someone with a different stance and focus only on understanding their reasoning. If a direct conversation feels too charged, watch a video or read an article from a source you usually avoid.

Bonus: After hearing another perspective, take a moment to notice your reaction. Did the alternative viewpoint make sense in any way? Has it shifted your opinion, even slightly? Use this reflection to consider how your beliefs might evolve as you encounter new information.

Type Two: Go on a Solo Date

For Twos, meaningful moments often feel incomplete without someone to share them with. Doing things alone can seem awkward or even pointless, and spending time solo may trigger worries that you are not worthy or magnetic enough to “deserve” company. While these fears are real and difficult to face, do you really want your life’s story to be dependent on who comes with you? 

Challenge yourself: Plan and enjoy a solo date—visit a museum, try a new restaurant or explore a part of town you’ve never seen. Use the time to notice what you enjoy when no one else is influencing the experience.

Bonus: Resist the urge to share your outing on social media. Let this be a memory that belongs only to you, and see how it feels to enjoy something without an audience.

Type Three: Start a Brand New Hobby

For Threes, being seen as incompetent is one of the hardest challenges. The idea of struggling in front of others is uncomfortable, so it’s natural to gravitate toward familiar territory and assert what you can do, so nobody fixates on what you cannot. But always playing to your strengths can limit growth and keep you from discovering new interests.

Challenge yourself: Choose a hobby or activity you’ve been curious about but avoided because you’d have to start from scratch. Allow yourself to be the student, not the master.

Bonus: Share your progress with others before you feel ready. For example, you might invite a friend to join you for a dinner you’re learning how to cook so they can see your first attempts. Letting others see you learn helps break the habit of only presenting your most polished successes.

Type Four: Go to the Gym

Fours often get stuck in cycles of rumination, trying to “fix themselves” by turning problems over in their minds instead of taking action. While deep thinking can feel productive, it rarely leads to real change without a physical step forward. Exercise offers a way out of this loop by shifting focus from thoughts to movement.

Challenge yourself: Commit to going to the gym every day for a week. Even a short session can help you reconnect with your body and break the habit of staying in your head. If the gym feels intimidating, start with beginner workouts and go during quieter hours to get comfortable.

Bonus: Keep it up for a month. Sticking with the routine after the initial excitement fades helps you build trust with yourself and proves that real change comes from doing, not just thinking.

Type Five: Join a Club or Society

Fives tend to guard their energy and would rather not be around people they don’t know unless they definitely have to be. To you, socialization outside your core group is usually a means to an end—getting groceries, thanking your Uber driver, being nice to a classmate so they’ll share their notes. But while sticking to familiar faces is comfortable, building connections outside your usual circle can add real value to your life.

Challenge yourself: Join a club or group that matches your interests and show up regularly. This gives you a chance to form connections at your own pace.

Bonus: Take the next step by inviting someone from the group to share a meal or coffee outside of the usual meetings. This lays the groundwork for individual friendships.

Type Six: Try a New Recipe

Routine helps Sixes feel grounded, and familiar habits offer a sense of stability in a world that can seem unpredictable. That’s why you have a reliable coffee order, a predictable birthday wish list and a set bedtime. Still, watching others have interesting experiences can spark a quiet envy and a sense that you’re shackling yourself to your own routines.

Challenge yourself: Pick a recipe that you usually would not look twice at, maybe because it’s more complicated than usual or uses ingredients you rarely buy. Gather what you need and give it a try, letting the process introduce a bit of unpredictability into your routine.

Bonus: Cook a new recipe every day for a week. Breaking away from your usual dinner lineup in this simple way can help loosen your grip on bigger routines, making change feel less intimidating over time.

Type Seven: Have That Honest Conversation

Sevens are great at keeping things light, making them the life of any gathering and a welcome presence in tough situations. But their gift for lightness can make it hard to address uncomfortable feelings. When something bothers you, it’s tempting to brush it off and move on. But unspoken frustrations don’t just disappear; they tend to linger beneath the surface

Challenge yourself: Have the conversation you’ve been avoiding, even if it’s something that should have rolled right off you but didn’t. Practice vocalizing your feelings instead of pretending they’re not there. Honesty helps set clear boundaries and gives your relationship a chance to move forward.

Bonus: No matter how the conversation goes, don’t avoid the person afterward. It’s natural to feel uneasy following a tough conversation, but keeping up contact prevents distance from growing and shows that facing tough topics doesn’t have to disrupt your connection.

Type Eight: Delegate a Task

Eights value self-reliance and operate under the mantra that the only way to ensure something is done right is to do it themselves. You don't give up control easily in case the other person betrays your trust – or worse, holds the power against you. So you rely on the only person you can trust for sure: yourself. This approach can lead to feeling overburdened and frustrated with others, especially when independence turns into micromanagement. Letting go, even a little, is a real challenge.

Challenge yourself: Hand off a small responsibility to someone else, whether it’s asking a coworker to help with a minor project or letting a family member handle a chore you usually oversee. This is a practical way to practice trust and lighten your load.

Bonus: Allow yourself real downtime—take a few days off or hand over an entire project. Giving yourself permission to rest is a meaningful step outside your comfort zone and helps break the cycle of always needing to be in control.

Type Nine: Network

Nines often shy away from self-promotion because they associate it with bragging. They also find it difficult to recognize their own good qualities or even see their passions as interesting. To deflect from this feeling of mediocrity, they tend to shift the conversation to others: “Tell me about you.” Over time, this can leave them feeling invisible in situations where their own talents and contributions deserve to be recognized.

Challenge yourself: Practice asserting your strengths by reaching out to someone in your field for advice or opportunities. This could mean sending a message to a LinkedIn contact or inviting a coworker for coffee to discuss your interests and goals. Engaging in these conversations helps reinforce your value and builds confidence in presenting yourself professionally.

Bonus: Update your LinkedIn profile to reflect your accomplishments and experiences. Reviewing your achievements reminds you of your growth and also shows others just how much you have to offer.