Don’t get too comfy

SANDRINE RATTAN WITH WOMEN IN MIND

Great things never came from comfort zones –Anonymous

COMFORT is one of the greatest gifts bestowed to humankind and creating strong comfort zones particularly in the workplace is also laudable. The problem arises when those comfort zones become static and devoid of any type of creativity and innovation capable of adding value to the said organisation or even within your own career.

Looking forward to go to work to earn a monthly salary is far different from looking forward to go to work to be different and really add new value to increasing the viability and profitability to your workplace. Because the world is evolving rapidly, employees need to continuously reconfigure the lens through which they view their individual contributions to their respective organisations. If your comfort is aligned to the manner in which you are treated by your organisation, then by the same token, your performance and contribution must equate to an even greater value.

There are, however, some danger signals which resonate within comfort zones; sensing these signals is indicative that you need to start working your risk and reward equation where one variable is weighed against the other; once the reward outweighs the risk, then urgent action is required.

Stepping out of your comfort zone also requires learning and acquiring new skills and techniques geared towards making your job more meaningful and to a larger extent, validating your relevance to the organisation. You must push yourself to new limits and challenges as your comfort zone does not offer anxiety nor stress which, of course, stymies your creative juices and the need to invent new things. In the absence of renewed moves, all tasks would be completed with minimal effort which redounds to basic outcomes.

Remaining in your comfort zone restricts your ability to establish new relationships, engage in new conversations on issues outside of your work sphere and ultimately your knowledge bank becomes static. Testing your ability and strength to step out of your comfort zone requires you to challenge yourself with new tasks.

Start taking risks by peeping out of your present to identify new opportunities which may also require changing jobs and/profession. You may be interested in starting your entrepreneurial journey. Being in a comfortable space leaves little or no room for interest in anything else which may be attempting to ruffle those feathers, as once a conversation relating to some new invention comes up, your immediate reaction is to cringe, defend and resist. Becoming too engrossed in comfort, blinkers your vision and golden opportunities are missed. Promotions though commendable, may add little or no value to your current circumstances depending on how comfortable you are. In the absence of creativity, boredom slips in easily to strengthen your comfort zone.

It’s always advisable to step back and think how can I do things differently to create a more enhanced human being as well as a more viable organisation. Challenge the status quo by either stepping up or stepping out as a successful life equates to continuous growth and development.

Adriana Sandrine Rattan is a communications and branding consultant/author/empowerment builder and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) Contact: thecorporatesuitett@gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@gmail.com; https://www.facebook.com/IWRN1/