Is Your Comfort Zone Holding You Back?

Stepping out of one’s comfort zone is what man first did when he stepped out of land for the first time and onto the seas, not knowing what the next mile would bring and how he would combat the raging storms.

It is venturing out into new and unchartered territory and facing new challenges that test one’s abilities and, in some cases, weaknesses. It basically involves trying new things, whether it is a new way to work like adoption of technology or whether it means changing your line of work completely or leaving your job to start a business.

It is basically a battle with the mind that often imposes limits on what you can do when in effect the opportunities can be limitless. It is overcoming your fears, especially of failure.

I will be honest. It is something I did not do for years, right from the time I was studying for my ‘O’ Levels through my MBA and in the major part of my career. While in school, I just could not grasp Physics and Chemistry and never really made the effort even though when I did try I enjoyed it and the answers came naturally and with some fascination on the concepts in the subjects. Yet, I decided to drop Chemistry. At IBA, I had my aversion to Accounts and simply told myself I could not get beyond debit and credit. I just wanted to study in-depth Marketing and HR and excelled in my grades in those subjects. Yet, when I was in my final semester, I enjoyed Managerial Finance and scored a high grade, as well.

At work, I had the opportunity to go into sales in another company and; thus, add diversity to my brand management experience but I was so comfortable and doing well financially and growth wise where I was that I would turn down the opportunities, both internally and from head hunters. I may have lost a faster track and posting abroad but I just could not drag myself out from my comfort zone.

Yet, when I finally did I saw tremendous growth financially and also enjoyed what I did not like initially. More than that I saw that it was never that difficult or cumbersome, as I had imagined.

When you step out of your comfort zone you experience many benefits. A lot of them you could never have imagined. 

Personal growth

You get to learn new aspects of work and by doing work, you had shied away from you actually develop new skills and expand your personal and professional horizons. When I was in the brand management in the early days of my career, the quality of advertising that the agency brought us was disappointing and hardly creative. So, we decided to make the advertising ourselves with freelancers. Even though I had majored in Marketing and studied advertising in detail, there was the fear that when it came to the television screen or in newspapers it may not be appealing.

However, once we got the appreciation, we went ahead with it on a bigger scale and I learned a tremendous amount about production that actually helped me when I became a consultant and made my own design and advertising for clients.

Gain in confidence

When you do things that you thought you could not do or thought you would do badly at it and then see that it came out very well it gives you tremendous self-confidence. That helps you in other areas, as well as you feel you can do other things that you thought you could not do, including doing the routine things better. Not just the confidence you actually become happier in the sense that you feel good about yourself.

Improved decision making

This is one of the best side benefits when you step out of your comfort zone. Decision making is best when you are confident of your abilities and have self-belief. It is a psychological things really. The same points that would have held you back now are overshadowed by those that you feel will make the decision work.

Overcome fears

Once you have taken risks and they work out more often than not, you can overcome that fear of failure that holds back so many good ideas and initiatives. This can be tremendously empowering.

New relationships

When you step out into the unknown and into the new areas you end up meeting a whole lot of new people and encounter new thoughts that you would not have if you were just stuck doing the routine things and meeting the same people.

Again when we went into advertising ourselves, I travelled all around the world, while shooting commercials and experienced different cultures and attitudes. That taught me many things I would not have learnt doing just brand management. I also gained fresh perspectives on life, in general, and the world in which we live.

So, what is it that stops the people from stepping out of their comfort zones and which can you identify with? The most common are:

Fear of failure

This fear is borne out from not just the financial implications but the loss of reputation and embarrassment in front of colleagues. And if it is to do with leaving the job to start a new business or immigrating to another country there is the fear of not getting back into the same level of job.

Being rejected

This is rare but it happens. I know someone who wanted to move to sales from the Product Development Division but kept holding himself back thinking that he would not be accepted by his sales colleagues because he did not have the background or the experience. He had the right personality, was outgoing and loved the outdoors. But the culture in the sales department just kept him away from his ambition.

Encountering change

Change is something that everyone wants but are most wary of. There is the realisation that once you move out of your routine you will encounter new aspects of life and work, even at a new place and you wonder about that. I once had the opportunity to move to another city, which had its own charm but had a different culture and I just did not want to do that at that stage of my life.

So, I just gave up that opportunity, whereas a friend of mine in another company who took it benefitted from it tremendously.

It is important that you recognise and then overcome these hurdles in stepping out of your comfort zone. Think of it as a natural part of your everyday life whether personal or professional. The key is to confront these hesitancies and even fears and tell yourself that these are holding you back from growth and success that awaits you the moment you step out of your comfort zone.

(The writer is a corporate consultant, coach and former CEO with over 35 years of experience in leadership, building brands and organisational strategy. He now advises on business strategy, marketing, human resource and media management)