Comfort is a success killer. If you observe people, their whole life is about pursuing comfort. We like routines. We like control. It helps us in this chaotic world. For many, it can be quite scary without anchors that buffer us from life’s harsh realities.
Comfort Zones Condition Us
The problem with comfort is that we are easily conditioned. When crisis comes, our response should be one to step up and engage the challenges that confront us. However, if we have been pampered and have not been growing, then any crisis, small or big, will leave us paralyzed. Being out of the game means that a lot of conditioning has to happen to get back in the game.
A Poor Strategy
If the chief aim of your life is to hold on to comfort, then it’s a poor strategy. Things are changing at an unprecedented pace. It is easy to get left behind. To keep pace and remain relevant and valuable, you must embrace change. That is the comfort zone which is the best strategy. Loving your job, organization, tools, relationships, writing, or everything else you cling to is temporal in nature. Assume they will all change quickly.
The better strategy is to keep aware and make change for yourself the comfort zone. As you see things changing, then you change. That is the path to winning. It also keeps you ready for the inevitable.
I try to maximize everything at my disposal, but I hold on to none of it. My assumption is that things will change and so should I. Within every useful thing, there is a concept, an idea or a building block for what is to come. In that, I take comfort and ride the wave of continual change.
What comfort zones do you find yourself in?