When was the last time you felt that you are really uncomfortable in doing something. When was the last time you thought of doing something new or doing something differently? What are the things that you really enjoy doing or feel more comfortable? When the last time was did you really experience the feeling of adventure? When was the last time you took a risk in your life? Let me share some thoughts on the concept of Comfort Zone. There are lots of things in our life that we are comfortable in doing without any fear or anxiety. There may be different reasons as to why we are comfortable in doing certain things. Either you may have confidence or ability to do that or you may have both. If you have both you tend to enjoy the work you do and keep on doing the same thing over and over again. Because simple reason is that you know that it (The way or the approach) has worked for you and still it works. So why should I change it or try to do it differently. If you feel so you are operating in your comfort zone.



Now what is this Comfort Zone is all about? ‘The Comfort Zone is a person’s standard form of reference. This is the place where there is a complete absence of fear and anxiety. A person who is operating in the Comfort Zone feels 100% confident of their ability to perform a given task. There is a degree of boredom associated with this zone’. The comfort Zones concept refers to individuals. Because the comfort zones of different people are different from each other. Something that I enjoy doing may totally tricky thing to someone else. For instance let’s take swimming. There are people who are good at swimming where as some are really afraid of thinking even put their toes into water. This situation can apply to an organization or a society. Say if the people of your organization are comfortable with existing systems (Status Quo), there is no need to change.



Just take a couple of minutes and think about your comfort zones. Visualize things that you are good at doing and afraid or uncomfortable in doing. Have you though of what you are going to do to get yourself comfortable in doing things that make you uncomfortable. People who have made changes or have been successful in terms of both personnel and Career have always challenged their comfort zones. They have always tried to come out of their comfort zone inch by inch every day. Right next to your comfort zone there is another zone existing which is referred to as stretch zone. Those people who are successful have stretched themselves to move into the stretch zone where a majority of growth and learning is available. By stretching yourself, you could expand your comfort zone and acquire or upgrade your skills, acquire new knowledge and at the end of day to widen your horizons.



As a Leader/manager how can we facilitate the development of our colleagues and subordinates/Followers? As it was mentioned earlier we have to understand the comfort zone of each and every individual to facilitate their development. If you want to transform your organization into a learning organization or if you want to change the prevailing culture of your organization what will you do? First think whether you are willing to come out of your comfort zone and stretch yourself to facilitate this process. If somebody really wants to change something or challenge the status quo you need to have guts to do that instead of giving excuses. Let me share my classic example of fire fighters. Put yourself into the shoes of a fire fighter who is trying to rescue victims of an emergency fire. Try to understand ultimate responsibility of him that is to make sure that victims are rescued. But in order to achieve the ultimate objective there are certain activities he has to do such as driving fast, pumping water or using relevant chemicals. But does it make sense when he says that I did everything but was not able to rescue victims. People who are operating in their comfort zones tend to do things without understanding the big picture but for the sake of doing. It is only you who can challenge your comfort zone and stretch yourself to come out of that. It is just a matter of deciding on it and acting upon it. Comfortable? Uncomfortable?