Breaching the Comfort Zone

Have you ever given much consideration as to why you read the books you read, or why you watch the movies you choose to watch? Perhaps the cover grabs your attention? Maybe it is because the book is from a specific author that you like or it is just sitting in the section that you normally buy books from. Most likely it is because someone you trusted told you about it. That someone could be a best sellers list, it could be Amazon’s personalised recommendations for you, it could be that a friend told you about it. It is highly unlikely that you regularly walk into a bookstore and go ‘Wow today I am going to buy a totally random book in a genre I have never read by an author I do not know.’ While the random book idea can be a rather liberating experience it is one we tend to shy away from. We prefer the trusted and tried.

The books you read, films you watch, places you go on holiday (if you go at all), people you interact with are all largely based on your past experience, or the past experience of someone else whose opinion you value. Humans, most of the time, seek out that which is inherently familiar to us. It is, perhaps, a psychological safety mechanism that keeps you risk free and secure. Trying a new author has risk; you are spending precious money on a book that you may not enjoy. So we mitigate that risk by seeing if others have read it first. Movie producers pay high end actors a fortune to be in their films, not just because they may be good at their craft, but because they create a sense of familiarity in the fans who will go watch the movie. Trying something new can be an emotional experience if you have to break out of your comfort zone to do so. Stepping out of it means that you are moving away from trusted ground and onto something less stable.

I make an effort to do something new and different each year. It may be trying a new author, learning a new skill, travelling to a new location, having a new experience. Last year I took up karate, the year before that I started on a book manuscript, before that I went to Disneyland, before that I started this column. Do something new. It may scare you a little. It may throw your system out of sync for a while as you persuade yourself you are not crazy. At the end of the day the biggest comfort zone you are breaking is the fear of trying new things. Plan a holiday this year with the family rather than just sitting at home during your leave days. Try somewhere new locally, try going outside the country, and try a new method of travel. Take up a new sport or hobby. Go skydiving, go swim with sharks, do the gorge swing at Victoria Falls. Read a book a month. Just do something that challenges you.

Businesses have comfort zones. We do work the same way because it is the way it has always been done. Starting a new product that has never been done involves breaking out of the familiar. Stepping up from local to regional to international hammers on the walls of comfortable. Trying a new management style or bringing a new structure to a company means stretching the boundaries we have in our minds. Start by breaking out of your own personal zones and you will be better able to handle the bigger changes that you have to make in your organisation. Have fun with it.