To directly address whether leaving the comfort zone always results in a positive outcome, the answer is clearly no. Putting aside the obvious possibility of s

To directly address whether leaving the comfort zone always results in a positive outcome, the answer is clearly no. Putting aside the obvious possibility of something going catastrophically wrong (to use an old quote: If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you!), there are some types of knowledge you may not want. I personally benefitted greatly from my military service, but I have friends that bear both physical and mental scars from it. For them, it did not have a personally positive outcome (I emphasize the personally because they served honorably and contributing greatly to their country.). Similarly, I have two close friends in law enforcement. They both are stronger for their work and have had many interesting experiences, but many people would not want to have seen some of the things they have or had to make some of the choices they did. With that said, it generally has a positive outcome, especially if you are talking about things like just studying a new programming language or academic subject.