Comfort Zones
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So what on earth is a “Comfort Zone” ?
Wikipedia says:
“A comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and (perceive they are) in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress. In this zone, a steady level of performance is possible” (DHRF emphasis & link)
American psychiatrist Abigail Brenner, M.D. says:
“Each of us has our own ‘comfort zone’ which, more than an actual place, is a psychological/emotional/behavioral construct that defines the routine of our daily life. Being in one’s comfort zone implies familiarity, safety, and security. It describes the patterned world of our existence, keeps us relatively comfortable and calm, and helps us stay emotionally even, free from anxiety and worry to a great degree. Creating a comfort zone is a healthy adaptation for much of our lives” (DHRF emphasis)
Well those are both very positive views !!
Only 1 of 4 Zones
Image based upon https://peoplehrsolutions.com
The Image is such an oversimplification !
If only real life was so simple it could be distilled into some simple diagrams… If only !!
The actual purpose of these kind of diagrams and images is to actually try to define in a very general way the boundaries of the various problem domains involved…
DH Comments: “At the time of writing this, I can see that in various different aspects, that I am actually in all four zones at the same time…!”
The Comfort Zone
- Feeling Safe & In Control 2
So the “Comfort Zone” is only one of four psychological states (or “mindsets”), the others being:
The Fear Zone
- Lack of Self-Confidence
- Finding Excuses not to do things
- Being affected by the opinions of others
- Being consumed by your own anxieties
Being in the FEAR ZONE is not a good or healthy place to be because it can develop into an ever-increasing vicious-circle that very destructively feeds upon itself…
The Learning Zone
- Deal with Challenges & Problems
- Acquire New Skills
- Extend your Comfort Zone
The Growth Zone
- Find Purpose
- Live Dreams
- Set New Goals
- Conquer Objectives
Maslow’s “Triangle of Needs”
Image from Wikipedia
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs seems to be very similar to the Comfort Zone image above, and saying similar things in a different way…
The essence of both images is really about how you manage and control your various psychological states so as to move yourself forwards to where you may want to be…
The Flow Principles can be used very effectively to overcome and/or to transform adversity…
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s simple FLOW principles outline some simple steps to harness the power of flow…
The importance of being in The Flow here…
The Negative side: Being “comfortably unhappy”…
Author & Relationship Coach Justin Rigney is much more negative, saying:
“The most basic human instinct is to stay comfortable. Humans will do anything to avoid discomfort…
People’s subconscious would rather be miserable and comfortable, than happy and uncomfortable“ 3
His comments are within the context of personal relationships – more here…
“Living ‘Comfortably Unhappy’ Isn’t Really Living at All”…
Alessia Cianni in her blog takes a much wider view, saying:
“Do you ever wonder if what you are doing with your life is bringing you the happiness it should? If the people you are surrounding yourself with are adding to your overall contentment? Are you someone who ‘lives for the weekend’?”
“Whether it is relating to a job, relationship or hobby, it is awfully dangerous to fall into a comfortably unhappy routine. Waking up each day to go to a job that is bringing you no sense of satisfaction, but, provides stability seems to be the norm for a lot of people. Then there are those that are dating someone just because they are lonely. Or perhaps even worse, staying with someone they’ve been with for years just because it’s comfortable and safe. But why are any of these acceptable scenarios?”
Choosing to leave your own “Comfort Zone”…
DH comments: “I have always found it very difficult to choose to leave my comfort zone. In fact I don’t believe I have ever left my comfort zone voluntarily… I believe the reason for this in the past is due to my own passivity due to a lack of confidence”
… Or being forced to leave…
So far all the discussion has been about realising and working towards CHOOSING to make a change to your life’s direction…
However, as but one example, the various CoronaVirus shenanigans have more than likely FORCED many folk very much out of their Comfort Zone(s) and into their FEAR ZONE
Elon Musk “Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is an entrepreneur and business magnate. He is the founder, CEO and Chief Engineer at SpaceX; early-stage investor, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla, Inc.; founder of The Boring Company; and co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI. With an estimated net worth of around US$285 billion as of December 2021, Musk is the richest person in the world - Wikipedia”) says:
Source: Instagram Meme (Author Unknown)
Elon Musk is regarded as being the “richest man in the world” according to Wikipedia
He has either founded, or become involved with, nutured and developed a number of very big name global companies…
He is inspirational and obviously very good at delegation and picking the right leaders to actually run his companies from day-to-day
“… loose some friends” WRONG !! 4
“… Most people don’t get it through“ WRONG AGAIN !! 5
In view of DHRF’s commitment to support learning, there is a much higher “learning content” in the Research Work Streams than would otherwise be the case… Please be aware of that ↩
And this is purely a perception “a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem - Cambridge Dictionary”) created in our own minds… ↩
DH comments: “Precisely my own life experience in at least two different scenarios…“ ↩
Pedantic point: The person who actually created this meme should have used the word “LOSE” ↩
The illiterate who wrote up this meme should have used the word “THOUGH” ↩