Comfort zone and Success in Work: How to Find the Golden Mean

It sounds right to ask ourselves this question considering the fact that most of us are affected by this in one way or the other. We can all give our own experiences or have seen this trend among our friends. Regardless of this, one thing is for a fact, most of us lack the predator instinct hence end up nesting ourselves in our own comfort zone. In as much us people can argue that it is not such a bad thing after all, we end up limiting ourselves from reaching our maximum potential. rnWhy is it so? For many years people have failed to understand why most of them tend to be attracted to comfort zone. It all lies with the mind set of an individual. Most of us are contented with the little we have hence do not see the need of stretching out. We do this subconsciously without realizing the damage we are causing to ourselves. rnWhat exactly is comfort zone? rnDid you know that an individual's personality can be defined by their comfort zone? Yes indeed. This is because; comfort zone is a behavioural state which makes an individual to operate in some form of anxiety-neutral condition with a limited set of behaviour to give a steady performance that barely involves any risk factors. This mental condition is unique on its own as it triggers an individual to operate in some form of mental boundaries. rnWith such boundaries in place, the individual then creates some sense of security which they feel at ease to operate in. this can explain why a majority of us are afraid to leave our comfort zones. The most obvious characteristic of an individual operating in a comfort zone is that they are so at ease with that particular axis of their life such that they do not see the need to step out of the same.rnThe psychology of a human being is weird in nature. People seek comfort by focussing on familiar patterns and habits. If something tries to mess up or cause a threat to those habits, human beings react by feeling uneasy and in worst cases nervous. To avoid such scenarios, people have a tendency of fall back to their routine behaviours hence rejecting any form of change. Change is good but because of the sense of security established by comfort zone, you'll find most people preferring not to change. rnHow comfort zone impedes your development rnAs highlighted above, comfort zone is a mental state that seeks to bring some sense of security. By doing so, it makes one believe that they are good the way they are hence no need to develop further. In most cases this is not true. Human beings are created with unlimited potential hence by putting a ceiling over your head only goes against you. People who are operating in their comfort zone are afraid to take any risks not because they cannot, but simply because they are afraid of what will come out of it. rnAdventure is good in many ways. By stepping out of your comfort zone can open new avenues which you even did not know they existed. You might be sitting on your potential without even knowing. Comfort zone has prevented people from becoming rich because they are afraid of trying a new approach in their lives and prefer their sense of security. Courtesy of comfort zone, individuals who are employed would rather prefer to remain employed other than starting their own business simply because they are afraid of what the future holds. They'd rather prefer working for others because their current employment gives them the sense of security which to them is what matters. Some employees are even afraid to challenge for the top positions in their firms because they are contented with their lives. rnThe lack of ambitionrnA number of factors can be attributed comfort zone but perhaps the most common of them all is the lack of ambition. People with no ambition in life tend to be contented with whatever it is they have and do not see the need to go out and achieve more. These people lack the predator instinct to step out of their comfort zone so as they can become adventurous. rnAttitude is also a huge contributor to building a sense of security. Poor attitude in life can make an individual satisfied with the little they have hence making them to develop this mental condition. The best way to dealing with this is to change our attitude towards work and have a positive mind.rnHow to step out of your comfort zone rnThese are some suggestions on how best we can deal with comfort zone: • Careless - our biggest drawback to dealing with comfort zone is being afraid of what people would really think about us in case we fail. You should not make it a problem because everyone fails and it is only through failure that we can turn out better. • Face your fears – take some time to understand what it is that you are really afraid of and work towards overcoming it. It might be that you are afraid of heights, spiders or germs but do not let it weigh you down. • Start by taking small steps – Rome was never built in a day! Just take some time to walk yourself out of your comfort zone. rnIn conclusion, in order to develop ourselves and maximize our potential, we need to be ambitious people and step out of our comfort zone. By embracing comfort zone, you automatically limit yourself from achieving your best.