Your Comfort Zone

Summary

Since the start of my entrepreneurial journey, I’ve been in a semi-permanent state of discomfort. Not physical, mental, or emotional discomfort, and not to the point of unbearable pain. My discomfort has been related to my routine, my work efforts, and most important of all, my perception of the impact I am having.

When I was managing projects in corporate land, it was relatively easy to determine what impact my efforts had on project productivity and success, team cohesion, stakeholder satisfaction, and organizational appreciation for the work we were progressing. In project management there are tell-tale signs, reference points, and direct and indirect feedback information readily available multiple times per day, every day. I used these as opportunities to absorb, reflect, react, and move forward.

Supplementary to my ongoing learning in the art and science of coaching, I have also been working through extensive training and coaching programs, learning about a whole mixture of areas that I never considered within the confines of my project management consultancy capacity. Topics such as my value to the world, my ideal clients, marketing, sales and selling, service, how to deal with objections and rejection, digital advertising, the power of social media, how our emotions play their part, and the importance of social proof.

Add in sporadic and completely unpredictable income streams, working days that are at least as long as they were previously, and all of this with much less ability to accurately gauge my impact like I used to be able to. I don’t mind telling you that it has been quite the journey.

Now, I want to be clear that this is not a victim story. I love what I’m doing and feel like I’m truly on the cusp of some genuine impact for the world. What has resonated with me lately is the difference between living and operating within my comfort zone (i.e., my previous working cadence), and the life that I’m leading now. All of this got me to thinking about the nuances of comfort zones in general and whether they are a good thing, a bad thing, or something in between.

In this blog I’ll dig a bit deeper into comfort zones; what they are, what’s their point, when they serve us and when they don’t, and how to manage them in the future.

What is a Comfort Zone?

Our comfort zone is a very common term that is used in a plethora of examples to describe our preferences and behaviours in life, but what does it truly mean? From my research, my interpretation of our comfort zone is that it is a behavioural state where we operate in a cadence that does not encourage increased or unhealthy stress or anxiety, where we use an already-learned set of skills and behaviors to navigate and deliver a predictable and steady level of performance. Some key characteristics of your comfort zone are explained down below:

• Behavioural state: Certain behaviours are conducive to being within your comfort zone. These are chosen and deliberate and can be situational (i.e., some areas of your life might be in your comfort zone, and some are not)
• Stress or anxiety: Being at choice with your behaviours can mean that you are working within known parameters of your skill set, capabilities and limitations, and on things that are not too difficult for you. As a result, stress or anxiety would naturally be neutral or decreased as a result
• Predictability: Since you will be working within parameters of your behaviours and choices, your performance, output and outcomes will, over time, become predictable and consistent. That’s not to suggest that they will be with exemplary or substandard; that might be for others to determine

Overall, operating within your comfort zone provides you with a sense of safety and control over your environment.

The Difference Between Being Comfortable and in Your Comfort Zone

Now is a good time to discern between being in your comfort zone and being comfortable. Use my descriptor above for your comfort zone and apply it to other areas where you experience comfort. It could be physical or emotional comfort and here is where it gets interesting for me.

I am comfortable being uncomfortable. I am comfortable expanding my horizons, trying new things, learning new skills, putting myself ‘out there’, and learning more about myself every day. Literally every day. However, that is not my comfort zone. My comfort zone takes things from my past I have already learned and experienced, applies them to me today, and gives me an opportunity not to feel vulnerable, anxious, fearful, or any other feeling or emotion I might consider negative. Sometimes I like being there and sometimes I don’t. Do you see the difference?

What Purpose Does a Comfort Zone Serve?

I would like to think that with deliberate and good intention our comfort zone serves an important purpose in our lives, some of which are described below:

• Psychological safety: Our comfort zone can act as a mental buffer that minimizes exposure to stressors and fears, thus allowing us to feel secure and more emotionally balanced
• Efficiency: Operating within the comfort zone can lead to more efficient task completion, since the familiarity of the tasks leads to less of a burdensome cognitive load / impact and a more automatic or instinctive delivery cadence
• Confidence: Being in a safe environment, efficiently working through life allows us to gain confidence in what we are doing, which potentially could lead to expanding our comfort zones once we’re on solid confidence footing
• Peace of mind: Each of the above can combine to provide both enjoyment and peace of mind that we are where we need to be, doing what we need to be doing. Depending on what your comfort zone frame of reference looks like (I always assume a positive angle), when operating there you can be in a space where inner peace is fully present

Note that none of the above has any form of lazy, avoidant, unaccountable, or negative connotation. Being in your comfort zone is neither of these things, however that might not be the external representation. This is meaningful in terms of communication as the more you are aware of your comfort zone, the more you’ll be able to manage perceptions and expectations of others.

Where our Comfort Zone Comes From

Our comfort zones are unique to each of us and are formed throughout our lifetime through a variety of factors, such as:

• Routine: Through repetition and consistency in actions and behaviours over time, we will develop routines that can form part of our comfort zones. Let’s also employ reality and appreciate that not all routines are comfortable, nor do they serve us
• Past experiences: Our life journey to this point has significant influence. Successes, failures, positive and negative outcomes from past behaviours helps build a mental repository filled with what does and does not work for us, contributing to the parameters and boundaries of our comfort zone
• Environmental factors: Our surroundings are important, both physical and psychological. Consider the impact of your geography, home, family, culture, and work environments – all these helps shape our comfort zones by contributing to norms and expectations

Think about your comfort zones throughout your life up to this very moment. Can you identify the comfort zones that have stayed relatively steady and remain today, and those that have evolved as you have? How intentional were you in your comfort zone growth?

When a Comfort Zone is Useful

Comfort zones, like most things in life when properly identified and used for good, can be useful in terms of your ability to navigate life, manage expectations (your own and others), and introduce steady predictability on what life will look life for that period. Having this information can be useful in the following areas:

• Stress management: During periods that are stressful to you, your comfort zone can offer respite allowing you to stabilize your mental state and give yourself what you need
• Skill mastery: Think about this for a second. Your comfort zone primarily uses and enables the honing of your existing skills without the distraction of new challenges, thus without the need to learn new skills. This can lead to mastery of existing skills through repetition
• Mental recovery: Managing your stress and mastering existing skills can provide you with a safe space where you can recharge and recover from whatever demands are placed on your life

The key here is awareness. Are you consciously choosing to visit your comfort zone to benefit you in some way, or do you subconsciously go there as a reaction to an event or feeling? What outcomes do you experience from both circumstances?

When a Comfort Zone is Harmful

If you’re reading this blog, you have some level of interest in self-development, which in and of itself involves varying degrees of discomfort as you tackle new things that will help you grow. You can indeed have too much of a good thing and if you are in your comfort zone permanently you must ask yourself both why that is, and how it is serving you. Below are some harmful drawbacks from being in your comfort zone for longer than is serving you:

• Stagnation: Continually (or regularly) staying within your comfort zone can lead to a lack of growth and personal development, primarily because new challenges are being avoided
• Missed opportunities: Exposing yourself to only familiar experiences can result in missing chances for advancement, forging new relationships, and benefitting from new opportunities. I literally got sadder just by typing the previous sentence
• Evolution: Reduced exposure to growth will impact your ability to cope with whatever new challenges life will throw at you

This is not to suggest in any way that being in your comfort zone is immediately or terminally harmful to you. It is all about intention and moderation. Using it to serve you in the way you need to be served in the moment, then navigating out of your comfort zone and back to whatever or wherever you need to be to take your next best steps is key.

How to use Your Comfort Zone to Serve You

Prior to the Coach Gaz Challenge, I’ll finish this blog by asking you to consider ways or areas that you can extract every bit of goodness from your comfort zone so that you are maximizing the effort and energy expended there. Consider:

• Incremental challenges: Introducing small, manageable challenges regularly to gradually broaden your comfort zone. You get to choose the increment; just make sure there is meaning in your challenge. If appropriate, set goals and measure your progress
• Reflection: This is for life, of course. In terms of comfort zones, maintain a habit of reflection to understand when the comfort zone is helping or harming. Your reflection practice will be personal to you and your style
• Support systems: Develop a network of people who will inspire and encourage you to step out of your comfort zone. A safe and supportive space to expand your horizons can be a wonderful catalyst to growth

Remember that we all have a choice on how much or little effort we are willing to expend to get the results that we want. Once you have absorbed the information from this blog, I will be really interested to hear what you are going to do with that information.

Coach Gaz Challenge: Answer the following questions: What is your comfort zone? When are you in it? How long do you spend there? How often? How does it serve you (i.e., what results do you get)? After you have answered these questions, consider what it would look like if you made a tweak or adjustment to your existing practice. Then make the tweak or adjustment and gauge the results. Please do let me know what you find.

I’m always open to a conversation on your thoughts, opinions, and experiences on this or any topic in the library. Get in touch by subscribing below, or by using the form on the Let’s Connect area of the site.