Trash Talk: Where Self-Help Cliches Go to Die
What if the so-called “truths” about growth and success are actually keeping you playing small?
On Trash Talk, hosts Erica Breuer and Erin Thomas unpack empty platitudes and tired cliches that dominate the business and personal development world. These ideas might be popular, but that doesn’t mean they’re useful.
Who listens to Trash Talk?
- Skeptics and Questioners of hollow advice
- Those asking why self-help advice fails
- People done with toxic self-help culture
- Anyone who wants a place to finally talk openly about all the advice that makes you roll your eyes
Trash Talk: Where Self-Help Cliches Go to Die
"Get Out of Your Comfort Zone" vs. "Stay in Your Lane"
Two of the most recycled pieces of advice—“Get out of your comfort zone” and “Stay in your lane”—sound helpful on the surface. Push yourself! Focus! Hustle! Specialize!
When these concepts collide, the absurdity becomes obvious.
Erin and Erica analyze two cliches that seem at odds, but that also define a new reality in the tension that lives between them.
Don’t forget to leave us a review or call the hotline to share your favorite (or most cringe-worthy) cliches:
719-819-2175
Show Notes & Links Selective Attention
https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/neuroscience/selective-attention
The Neuroscience of the Flow State
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645498/full
Cognitive Load During Problem Solving
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4
Episode Title
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone vs. Stay in Your Lane: The Double Standard of Success Advice
Episode 20 | September 2025
Trash Talk with Erica Breuer & Erin Thomas
Episode Summary
In this episode, Erica and Erin unpack two contradictory pieces of advice we’ve all heard: “Get out of your comfort zone” and “Stay in your lane.” They explore how each cliché shows up in culture, work, and personal life—revealing the hidden double standards and the tension they create. Along the way, they share personal stories, listener call-ins, and reframe these clichés with healthier, more realistic alternatives.
Table of Contents
- Intro
- Main Topic 1: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
- Main Topic 2: Stay in Your Lane
- Guest Story Highlight: Ryan on “That’s Not My Job”
- Key Takeaways
Call to Action
Intro
Welcome back to Trash Talk. This episode dives into two contradictory pieces of advice: Get out of your comfort zone and Stay in your lane. You’ve probably heard both, sometimes from the same people—sometimes even in the same week. Erica and Erin compare these opposing clichés, explore how they play out in real life, and ask: Who benefits when we follow them?
Main Topic 1: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
“Push yourself. Stretch. That’s where the magic happens.” That’s the promise of comfort-zone advice. Ships aren’t built to stay in the harbor. Do one thing every day that scares you.
The appeal is obvious: discomfort is equated with growth. But there’s a darker side. Chasing discomfort can become a golden ticket to burnout. It can validate overwork or manipulate people into taking on more than they should. Erica and Erin reflect on how this advice shows up in corporate settings, consulting cultures, and even motivational industries designed to profit off our insecurities.
Main Topic 2: Stay in Your Lane
On the surface, “stay in your lane” sounds practical: focus on your strengths, protect your time, avoid waste. In business, it often translates to niching, specialization, and following proven systems.
But the phrase also carries a controlling undertone. It’s a way to keep people predictable and boxed in. Historically, it mirrors industrial-era structures—factories and hierarchies where everyone was expected to perform a single role. Today, it can discourage multipotentialites, neurodivergent thinkers, and creatives who thrive by moving across domains.
Erin points out that it’s the modern version of being told, “Don’t get too big for your britches.”
Guest Story Highlight: Ryan on “That’s Not My Job”
Listener Ryan called the Trash Talk hotline to share his experience with toxic workplace advice:
“My boss constantly told us that ‘that’s not my job’ isn’t in our vocabulary. But when things got hard, I ended up doing his job. Eventually, I realized that sometimes you need to say, ‘That’s not my job,’ because otherwise the work and the people suffer.”
Erica and Erin reflect on how this mindset shows up in service jobs, corporate offices, and legal practices—and how “team player” expectations are often weaponized against underpaid employees.
Key Takeaways
- “Get out of your comfort zone” can encourage growth—but it also fuels burnout and exploits overachievers.
- “Stay in your lane” can promote focus—but it often boxes people in and maintains hierarchies.
- Both clichés are used to control behavior, not always to support real growth.
- The tension between them creates decision paralysis, identity conflicts, and double standards—especially across gender and workplace roles.
- Reframes:
- Instead of Get out of your comfort zone → Find your edges. Growth comes from stretching, not snapping.
- Instead of Stay in your lane → Run with the full course in mind. Claim agency over your path instead of being confined by others’ expectations.
- Instead of Get out of your comfort zone → Find your edges. Growth comes from stretching, not snapping.
- Key question to ask: Who benefits from this advice—you or someone else?
Call to Action
If you’ve ever been caught between these contradictory clichés, we want to hear your story. Call the Trash Talk hotline at 719-819-2175.
If you enjoyed today’s episode, please follow Trash Talk on your favorite podcast platform, leave a review, and share it with a friend.
Show Notes & Links
- Follow Erica Breuer: LinkedIn
- Follow Erin Thomas: LinkedIn
- Visit Trash Talk Website: Buzzsprout
