I recently read about a startup founder who worked as an IPS officer
However, he quit his job, did an MBA, worked for a consulting firm, and started his own venture.
People familiar with UPSC would know how coveted a job is as a civil servant in India. Once you clear the country’s most competitive examination, your life is set.
You have a job that is secure for life, the income is good, the benefits are immense, and you command great respect from society.
Moreover, you can suck at your job, still not get fired and know the exact dates of your promotions for the rest of your career.
That’s how predictable and stable the job is. That sounds like the dream job, right?
The attrition rates for civil servants are also extremely low. A vast majority never quit because of the comfortable life one gets to lead despite the boredom that accompanies the predictable nature of the job.
Most go into their comfort zone, a psychological state of familiarity and control that leads to a stress-free mind.
The founder belonged to the minority for whom the stable job was profoundly unsettling, and he decided to quit the job and his comfort zone.
So many of us stay in our comfort zone because it provides psychological safety and a feeling of control.
Think of a job that pays you well but doesn’t challenge your intellectual capabilities regularly. You experience low levels of stress and anxiety.
But in the long run, you soon find yourself with outdated skills, no decision-making ability, and a lack of leadership skills that eventually take you out of the job market.
Your desire for short-term pleasure costs you in the long run.
The comfort zone is not just specific to a job but is also valid for other aspects such as your exercise regime, personal development, and creative arts.
Most aspects of your life compound, be it money, skills, physical fitness, or even your reputation.
Improvements you make the daily compound to give phenomenal returns over some time. Being lazy and staying in your comfort zone never starts the compounding.
The reason why a lot of people aren’t able to get out of their comfort zone is that the starting phase of something new usually requires tremendous effort and willpower.
You know your job sucks, but then you think about the mountain task in front of you. Just the thought of going through this painful process overwhelms you.
The easier thing to do is just stick with your current job.
Research has shown that inherently human brains love challenges. That is what keeps us going.
However, the challenges must be within an optimal zone of difficulty. To stay motivated and achieve peak performance, an individual must work on tasks of manageable difficulty.
Breaking any challenge into smaller achievable parts will enable you to overcome that friction you face at the start.
Setting high targets for yourself can also deter you from getting out of your comfort zone. We overestimate our ability and club that with an “All or Nothing” mentality that derails us from our plans.
For instance, the decision to lead a healthier lifestyle requires you to exercise and eat healthily. So, one day your super motivated self decides to break the cycle of laziness and bring about a change.
You chalk out a strict workout and diet plan, but you give up when you’re unable to keep up with your targets.
It’s important to realise that something is better than nothing. If you can’t exercise five days a week, three is acceptable, definitely better than zero.
Setting realistic goals and moving away from the “All or Nothing” mentality will go a long way in breaking free from all the different comfort zones we are trapped in.
Stepping outside your comfort zone requires you to make the difficult choices now so that your future self does not have to pay the price.
Either way, there is a price to pay. The people who prioritise short-term comfort pay the price in the future, while the ones who forgo short-term pleasure pay the price now.
Which side are you on?