Strategize To Succeed
PC406 – What’s Your Comfort Zone?

       Welcome to the next episode of Strategize To Succeed™. Selectively applying the strategies which we discuss each week will help you as you progress from conditions to opportunities to successes.

       In today’s episode, we are discussing comfort zones which are so sought after, along with the often dreaded notion of getting out of one’s comfort zone. The fact is that we ultimately need both conditions to exist in our lives in order to achieve balance. But it comes down to the amounts and the conditions which can have differing effects on us. And, of course, the bottom line is that what works for one person may not work or satisfy the needs of another person.

       Let’s start by describing a comfort zone. For some people it can be eating a bowl of mashed potatoes with butter and grated cheese. For others, it can mean sitting on a sofa with a comforter, a mug of hot chocolate and a wonderful book. Generally, to be in one’s comfort zone evokes a feeling of warmth and relaxation, with an absence of stress or anxiety.  

       Perhaps you won’t be surprised to know that experts have also reached a standard for what constitutes the existence of a comfort zone, although no foods were included in the description. 

      According to the blog post, “Comfort Zones: An Alternative Perspective,” by Elaine Mead (psychcentral.com/blog, November 26, 2018), in 2009, Alasdair White, a business management theorist, formulated the term “comfort zone.”  He defined it to be “a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person, and they are at ease, and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress. In this zone, a steady level of performance is possible.” The essence of one’s comfort zone seems to be the maintenance of consistency.

       But let’s face it, we can try to be as consistent as possible, we fill out the calendars, the meal plans the appointment books, but somehow, when the day in question comes around, there is no carefully worked out schedule which is capable of restoring consistency to a frenetic lifestyle, with kids, pets and traffic jams.

      At this point, you may sense that your stress level is becoming slightly elevated. Psychologist Robert Yerkes addressed this phenomenon as “optimal anxiety,” or that point at which the stress level is slightly elevated. That point just exceeds your comfort zone.

       However, that level of stress exertion has a fragile tipping point. As Yerkes concluded, although a small amount of anxiety can lead to an optimal performance level, “Anxiety improves performance until a certain optimum level of arousal has been reached. Beyond that point, performance deteriorates as higher levels of anxiety are attained.” 

      Perhaps a clear way of envisioning this description is to picture a straight line. At the far left end is your comfort zone. Then, you have a continuum moving along the line to the right. First up is optimal anxiety. Then, continuing further along the line to the right becomes the higher levels of anxiety. You’ll note that the farther you go towards the higher levels of anxiety, the worse your level of performance becomes because the anxiety takes over your body entirely. 

       The scientific community has not been satisfied to leave the comfort and anxiety zones as I just outlined them. Instead, they have added two more categories along the continuum. First is the growth zone and then there is the panic zone.

      The growth zone or learning zone comes just past the exterior of the comfort zone where there is some slight, but increasing, anxiety. It is considered to be the source for seeking and maximizing opportunity.

       Past the growth zone, as anxiety grows and can run rampant, is located the panic zone.

       The comfort zone, growth zone and panic zone are all elements of the Learning Zone Model, developed by Lev Vygotsky, a psychologist. These elements of the Learning Zone Model are described in the article “The Learning Zone Model,” by the Mind Tools Content Team (mindtools.com, December 19, 2022). 

       When one is safely ensconced in one’s comfort zone, there are no risks to deal with, instead life is routine and familiar. One needs to be coaxed to exit from one’s comfort zone. If pushed too aggressively, though, panic can set in.

       The growth zone, also known as the learning zone, is the location of challenge. As the name suggests, this location becomes the source of individual skill development, identification of abilities and experimentation. The more time spent in this location, the more one can learn.

       The panic zone is the area in which it is shown that good things can be overdone. What is being learned here is too advanced for one’s level of experience or expectation. Such an overwhelming feeling is unmanageable and the stress level rises. The result can be demoralizing. 

      So, the comfort zone sounds nice, but we recognize that nothing can really happen in there, and if we stay too long, we are really just treading water. What we want to do is operate in the growth or learning zone so that we can develop and advance both at work and in life. But, we want to stay away from the panic zone which can be too much for both our minds and our bodies to deal with on a regular basis.

       It can be difficult to maneuver this continuum without becoming either stuck or overwhelmed. However, there are certain approaches which we can utilize which can be of help. These five strategies also come from the Mind Tools article.

       First, “develop trust and resilience.” The trust element applies to both yourself and those whom you trust to work with you. For success, it is important that you trust that you can learn and that your environment is safe for you to positively experience learning. The objective here is to be open to learning without encountering the anxiety with can often accompany the process. The resilience element comes into play while learning. In that process, there are naturally going to be failures of one type or another. Once that happens, it is important that one has the resilience to continue the effort, try again, and not just walk away.

      Second, is to “build anchors to your comfort zone.” Building anchors represents those safe spaces that enable you to apply some of your known skills with which you are comfortable while also in the process of learning new skills. Combining the established while learning new procedures is a way of providing a bit of security and limiting the anxiety while learning.

       Third is to “work with mentors.” Mentors offer the opportunity to work with someone one-on-one who can function as a bridge between understanding your learning personality and the nature of the lessons to be learned. In addition, the mentor can apply specialized learning tools which are directed to the particular needs in the learning process.

       Four, “use scaffolding.” Think about the purpose scaffolding serves. Scaffolding is a protective, but temporary structure which is supportive of a building under construction. In this instance, scaffolding is used euphemistically to reference the assistance which you may want to seek. This scaffolding may cover any type of help, whether advice or encouragement. Consider scaffolding another learning tool.

       Five, “learn socially.” A childhood lesson which Your Mentor passed on to you many episodes back is that one can always learn from another person one of two things, either what to do or what not to do. And that lesson applies here as well. Social learning theory notes the importance of role models whom we look to for motivation or challenge. The basis for our observation goes beyond merely imitating the actions of another person; it is important to consider the basis for such actions, the mindset if you will. That understanding may offer an added key to learning the targeted skill.

       It may sound like it’s more trouble than it’s worth to move beyond one’s comfort zone, a world made of mashed potatoes, sinkable sofas and no anxiety, but the blog post by Jennifer Delgado entitled, “What is the Comfort Zone – and what’s not?” (psychology-spot.com), offers a number of reasons for making the effort to push oneself beyond one’s comfort zone. 

       According to the author, a psychologist, making the transition from a comfort zone to a learning zone can give one the added strength and resilience to handle tougher situations. Further, one’s productivity will increase.

       In addition, in a learning zone, it is possible to reveal a growth in creativity and open one’s eyes to added possibilities.

      And, by developing a pattern of shifting into a learning zone more often, one may also sense an increase in self-confidence along with added vitality. This expansion of one’s mental growth has the added benefit of helping to keep one’s brain active which can lead to improved aging.

       So, as warm and fuzzy as it may seem to remain in one’s comfort zone, be mindful that you won’t grow (except maybe your waistline by frequently indulging in your comfort foods). As you may have come to recognize, all of life is a balancing act. And moving from comfort zone to learning or growth zone, while trying to avoid the panic zone is another example of trying to achieve and maintain a balance. Sometimes you will be more successful at it than other times. But the situation is fluid, and you always have another chance to adjust the balance in your favor.

       Thank you for sharing your time today. Remember, your application of strategic decision-making approaches can result in more beneficial outcomes for you, both professionally and personally. Why not turn that process into your opportunity?  

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