Travel can stretch your comfort zone in a multitude of ways, and the fact that it does is one of the biggest benefits of travel, I think. You can stretch a comfort zone at home too, but pushing the boundaries of what you feel comfortable with is so much easier in a new place, and there are usually a lot more opportunities too.

In Episode 156 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I start off talking to Ann Mortimore and Ian Crabtree who took a giant leap by deciding to pack up their life in the United States and start exploring the world full-time. Their first stop, Guatemala, provided quite a few comfort-zone-stretching moments. (Spoiler alert: it was all worth it!)

Next up I chat with Michela Fantinel who I personally think is an expert in stretching her comfort zone. I admire how she's built up her experience of solo travel over the years and done particularly some amazing trips around Australia.

Finally, I speak to Alastair Humphreys who is no stranger to smashing his comfort zone, being a veteran of numerous crazy physical challenges - but we discuss how his most recent trip to Spain was a stretch of a completely different kind.

Links:

• How I stretched my comfort zone at the Ningaloo Reef - https://www.notaballerina.com/2016/10/australias-coral-coast-stretched-comfort-zone.html
• Ann and Ian at Expat or Not - https://www.expatornot.com/ 
• Michela at Rocky Travel - https://www.rockytravel.net/ 
• Alastair Humphreys - https://www.alastairhumphreys.com/ 
• Alastair’s new book My Midsummer Morning - https://amzn.to/2JWNjDe
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/156