How To Be Highly Productive, By Staying In Your Comfort Zone

You should always seek and stay in your comfort zone.

Yes you heard me right, you should always seek and stay within your comfort zone.

Hello everyone and join me on this episode of the virtual entrepreneur. I am your host habit innocent, and today I'll be talking to you about why you should seek and stay in your comfort zone. But before that, let's tune right in, I want to welcome you on this episode, and to this podcast if you're new to this podcast, a very warm welcome. This is the go to podcast for learning about how to grow your business online, but we go beyond just growing business online. And if you're new to this podcast, you may have missed our last episode, which was yesterday and it was on what is, you know, the how to get clients consistently.

So if you wanted to understand how you could set getting more clients consistently, I wanted to go and listen to that episode, Because we covered a lot of key aspects that are not usually spoken about in terms of getting more clients for your business. Right, there's the things that are shiny and everybody talks about and these are things that goes in the background, and nobody wants to talk about. So if you want to go and learn that in more details. I encourage you to go and learn to that. Pause this video, pause this audio, go listen to that. When you finish come back, we'll be right here.

Now that you're back let's continue. So, with that said, today I wanted to talk about why you should always seek and stay in your comfort zone, which is contrary to what the popular belief is which is you should stay out of your comfort zone, and I'm going to demonstrate and explain to you with certainty why that is a bad idea.

It's not just a bad idea, it's a wrong way of thinking, it's a misconception. It's a very nice fluffy idea that somebody picked it up and polished it, and it's a shiny object that's designed to distract you and prevent you from doing what really matters. But before I go into that I wanted to talk to you a little story a few years ago, back in college, I was sitting in this conference. It was, I think, a data analytics and cybersecurity conference, but it was very boring.

I don't know why I ended up there but I was always curious I've always wanted to learn more, to understand more so I can do more in my environment. I've always went out of my way to find opportunities to do more to find opportunities to grow. And so I'm in this conference, it's in the evening and the lady's important person somewhere, you know, in the data cyber security, and then give this lovely talk, right, it's a beautiful talk and people out, and then she goes on to, quote, to say a quote from a movie.

As if that quote was true in the movie she was quoting was the, the usual suspects, and she says, you know, she says you know the one thing is the biggest trick that the devil ever pulled was to convince the world that it didn't exist. Now hang on a second right I put up. I remember putting my hand up and saying, Well, that's not really the case.

Everybody knows the devil exists, everybody. I mean if you're new to the idea of the devil exists, hey, I'm telling you now the devil exists right now, this is not to get sidetracked with what this has to do with entrepreneurship, but the idea is that, in a world of today in business and in our personal development in life. Some ideas get picked up so quickly and they're polished, and they're meant to look like it's something useful, but it's not right. Another example is the idea that curiosity killed the cat.

Sorry killed the cat. Now that phrase on its own if you stop right there. It's designed to discourage you from being curious, right, because the full phrase says curiosity kills the cat, satisfaction, brought it back right now, if you are a curious person, and business owner and entrepreneur, an athlete, somebody who has an ambition to achieve a goal and somebody tells you curiosity kills the cat.

That's a sign to tell you to stop.

And so the idea of don't stay in your comfort zone, or, you know you should always be going out of your comfort zone, that is a myth consumption, it's a wrong way of thinking. And just as the idea that curiosity killed the cat is a phrase that people are using but don't fully understand or know the full phrase. And so before I jump into saying why comfort zone, you should always stay in your comfort zone.

Let's, let's first take a look at. Right, let's first step into this same page let's let's take a look at the idea that, you know, life all life we know it on earth as it is right. Life seeks to grow to become more to do more, right, if you look at wild animals they strive to run more from danger to place right they thrive to be taller the tribe they strive to be bigger, or they thrive to be smaller, but either way they do so much more. Right. You never see an ant sitting on its comfort zone. Right, the ants always swarming around right plant trees are always growing. A tree is designed to grow much more, until it has consumed all its resources, right, that's the environment that it says evolved in, Put it in the right environment in its comfort zone and it will keep on growing.

Take a look at animals in the zoo.

They look hopelessly depressed.

Right. I mean if you compare those two animals in the wild in the wild animals are teaming thriving running around searching for food. Yes, it's a struggle for life, but that is how they were built, that is the environment they were introduced to and their body and DNA has adapted to give them features to give them cat touristiques to allow them to grow in that environment, right.

You take a wild animal and then you put it in this perfect little box and expect it to be happy. It's not doing what it's supposed to be doing, kangaroos are meant to jump practising jumping higher, right, the animals are meant to climb on trees, while others are meant to dig deep down under the ground now when you put them in a cage. What are you doing you are taking them away from the comfort zone, their comfort zone is the place that their bodies were built for, they were built for running for jumping escaping for swimming.

Putting a dolphin adult fish on the software and saying don't get comfortable, is what we are doing to humans essentially right, we are saying you know you're on the sofa don't get comfortable, it's the wrong misconception, and thinking of the idea of the comfort zone, right, and I'm going to break it down as much as possible. But if you look at the wildlife right. They are designed to be outside in an environment that is forever changing the climate is changing the day and night cycles are changing the landscape is seasonal, nothing is constant, everything is ever forever shifting and their biology is equipped has equipped them with the tools necessary to thrive in those environment, and those that don't thrive, go extinct. And yes, to some degree, the environment does get too much changes at one point or another.

But regardless, that is where they are better off than being in a room, right. So that's one way of looking at this, and then when you look at it like that, for example, just your dog right if you take a dog from inside the house, and then you're going for a walk, what's the difference that you notice the first thing that you notice it's jumping up and down with excitement. Even your little puppy knows right It jumps up and down with excitement. Yay, we are going outside for a walk. I can finally dig those holes or smell the bushes or whatever dogs do outside, but that is the idea that I'm trying to get onto here. And so when it comes to human. We do better when we are working when we are doing what we feel, how is Roisin resonating with our hearts right, whether it's art, painting, athletics, or being a public speaker, whatever it is that really resonates with our being with our hearts, that's where we are thriving.

Right. That is where we feel most like us, that's when times that's flying by, we forget to eat right and artists painting a photo that they really love painting something that they enjoy something that a message is coming from their heart, sometimes they'll forget it, they'll spend days on their backs, if they're painting on the ceiling. We have history like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci when they're painting those big cathedrals. This is the story right we have these things in the books, and we have.

Even today we still have a lot of artists, saying and explaining the same thing when they're in that zone of creativity, when they feel like themselves. Set Time stops by and they're just doing the thing they love doing take a dancer. This is like the world stops existing and it's just me, even a singer. Some of them even close their eyes, just so they are themselves, right, in that low moment and that is the environment that they feel more of themselves as an athlete.

Right. It's like nothing else matter. All that matters is either running, or just playing the game, getting to the goal. That's when they feel more of themselves even their heart is supporting it beating. Right. Every everything the entire biology comes into synchronise allowing them to do more, and this is essentially the idea that this is your comfort zone, your comfort zone is when you are you doing everything you desire, Without the constraint of society, whatever that means for you, right, because the truth of the matter is, in society, we don't always do the things that we want to do the things that we feel we could be doing that we are capable of doing, even if it's positive things. Right. And in this case I'm only referring to the positive things, right, for example.

So, some of the goals that you haven't fully achieved is because you've been told you might fail a lot of entrepreneurs go into business are told, consistently, 90% of businesses fail, right, and if those are succeed 80% of them fail within five years, we are told to this things over and over and over and over and over and so if it's something that doesn't resonate with you, or even if it does if you didn't have that enough. Initial self confidence.

Then it's like the fire has been put out exactly wood has been made work before I even set fire on the wood, however I light it up, right. And so this is the concept of a comfort zone that is people are using wrong misconception, and to really define the comfort zone, what I would say is, you know, I'll define comfort zone, as the place, right, is the environment that allows you to be yourself, right, that promotes your growth and productivity.

That is how I will define self confidence. I haven't checked in the dictionary, but I know whatever the dictionary has to say.

I want to take it. Right. And so as an entrepreneur, I think we need to get into this mindset of defining some of these terminology for ourselves and refuse to accept everything we are being told, when you're in your comfort zone. Imagine if the sun is in the Goldilocks is in the very right spot for life is in that it comfort zone.

But how come so much things are happening.

Compared to the other planets, right, and more things happening here on, on the planet Earth like life teaming what you know with wildfire with plants growing like there's so much transitions just each season.

And there's a lot more going on.

So I would say that your comfort zone is when you can become you. And as you you've adapted to do more to be more to run faster if you exercise on running to sing better if you practice on singing to jump higher, if you practice on jumping to really build magnificent business if you let your imagination, be the way it was meant to be. If you remove all those constraints, because the thing is, I believe it's the constraints that needs to be taken away, and it's not the comfort zone, the comfort zone is the environment. When you create a comfortable environment for workers to work they thrive, they work better because they feel they're accepted as them, and they're not being forced to work as somebody else to abide by the rules they don't believe in, to sell products they don't believe in. Right.

And so what I think is we need to really be careful of the terminology that we accept. Right, see I think that the truth is, Fear is what we need to be getting away from, not the comfort zone right. So when you're stuck, I think it's fear, and here's why. Here's why. See, fear has this effect of polarising people, it has this effect that stops you from doing what you want.

Right. It will make you think it'll make you say, I'll think about it.

It'll make you say things like, I'll do it later. Or it'll make you think or say something like, I'm not sure, I mean, I don't know, gee, I haven't seen you know, I'm not really sure. It makes it doubtful of yourself and your actions, it makes you doubtful of your capability, as well as your confidence. Right.

It makes you want to stay normal fit in to the norm, that's not you, that's you trying to fit in. And that's the difference between the comfort zone and yourself. See, you yourself don't need to fit in, you need to be you. However, fear makes you want to fit in because you're afraid what they might say your favourite they might think you're afraid how they might see you. You're afraid of so many things about how the community or society perceive you and not about what you are capable of.

Right, so I've heard the this acronym before where fear is being characterised as false, false events. Appearing Real. Right. Fear false events. Appearing Real. And I think that's a really good way of looking at fear and the reason why I really wanted to look at this is because, well when you fear you can procrastinate right, you stop wanting to commit fully fear makes you not want to commit fully because you're not sure you stop investing, whether it's money, or with your energy and time right into relationship, or into business, or into partnership with somebody else, right, and fear stops you from giving it to you oh but it also makes it easier for you to give up.

So I think it's more fear than the comfort zone that we should really be more conscious of when you're saying, don't stay in your comfort zone. We should really be saying, watch out what are you afraid of because you are not in your comfort zone, when you are afraid when you're trying not to act when you feel like you're procrastinating and holding yourself back. It's not that you're comfortable. It's that there is something holding you back. Right. And so we need to maybe start looking at what is holding us back in our minds, what our own inner voices say, right, things that you are afraid.

Right. you're holding back because you feel you might fail.

Right, it's not because you're comfortable it's because you feel you might fail. The same artists would push really hard to go further, if they're not very sure.

They want to paint the procrastination painting. If you ever into art. You'll notice that if the message or the painting doesn't agree with your personality and your way of life. You procrastinate, you want to paint it but you can't. It goes against your way of thinking your way what you believe in.

Right. If you're an athlete, or. So, my last example is meant to be if you're an artist, if you're an athlete. Right. And you, you know, you are feeling fearful or afraid or uncertainty, you want to run as fast, you will hold back because you be doubting so you want to push your muscles as fast as you could. And I used to be. I used to run for the professional leagues, so I know, in terms of athletics here what I'm talking about. Right. And so that is what I'm referring to here.

To add more.

So the one thing that I was going to add is if you're an entrepreneur and you're building a business right you want to scale it. If you don't believe it. The fears if there's something that doesn't seem right, the fear sets in and makes you hold back. And so you begin wondering maybe you're too comfortable. And I don't think that it's comfortable, I think it's fear because here's another thing that I've come to learn, and I really believe this to be true. See, when you look at it from a point of view that it is fear. You also can see how you can fix it, but if you look at it from a point of view that its comfort zone, Then it's like this grant problem that has no solution. I mean, people say, get out of your comfort zone, how do you do that. Stop living in your house. Oh, what do you do that you jump in the river, because there is no solution to getting out of your comfort zone because.

And it's funny, we had this exercise this one time where we were literally being told to imagine our different comfort zones right depending on who we know what we know about our business about potential customers, potential growth. And you know, and it was agreed and I was looking at it and I'm thinking, that's a very nice philosophical way of looking at being. And by this, what I mean is, it's a very nice way of never doing anything but just thinking, see if it's your fear it's easier to see you, the types of things you tell yourself it's easier to see okay so this is my mentality, and this mentality is holding me back, because I am telling myself, I will do it later. I am telling myself.

This is not right. I am telling myself, I might fail. I am telling myself, all these things. So by looking at it from that point of view, we can start addressing those things, and that's why business coaches are there to help you see your mindset. But if you're looking at it as comfort zone.

How do you solve a problem his comfort zone. It's like Simon Sinek was saying in his book start with why one of the biggest things what he was talking about was how, if somebody was trying to talk, they'll talk about authenticity. Right. Hey, you should be more authentic How do you tell your marketing team to be more authentic like, what does that even mean, how do you do that. Hey Bob, added more authenticity, please.

It doesn't make any sense. In essence you can't solve that. But what he says instead is. Start with Why. Why do you do the thing to do, and that way you address your reasons for doing what you're doing. And the people who believe in what you do will come. And so here when it comes to your comfort zone, You should seek your comfort zone and here's why, in your comfort zone, that way you find your most comfortable self in terms of growth for your business for yourself, for your passion for your talents for everything that you could have been.

And if you are an ambitious person who has ever done anything. You would not just somewhere along the line, there were days where you got out of bed feeling super energetic, you feel just like yourself, it's like the sun, everything aligned, and you just did it you cry, you, you smash the day you did so well. It just felt like everything is like the day was meant to be the day for you. Right. You know the phrase today is not the day. Well, there are some times when you get today is the day it's the day where you get everything the job but everything. And in those moments, most people describe them as I felt like myself, and that means they were in their comfort zone. Is that not the right assumption if you felt yourself, like yourself, then you are in your comfort zone. Is that not the correct assumption. Right. And so that's what I wanted to cover today, and I think the key lesson that I've learned here is as business owner, we need to be careful.

What kind of normal that the society has set for us these terminologies what's considered normal, we need to be careful in how they're, you know, sneaking into our lives into our productivities into our mind, because if we are not careful of the weeds growing in our back garden. We will soon find ourselves with jungles filled with snakes and reptiles and all these wild creatures that will prevent the flowers from growing and blooming. Now that's a flowery message but the whole idea here is, there's a lot of concepts that prevents us and limit our ability to achieve more, because we have the wrong definitions, if we have the wrong definitions we set the wrong goals, and if we set the wrong goals. We are forever running in circles never reaching the goal that we want to get to. Right. I mean, how do you get to a goal, if you've been setting the wrong goal in the first place. You might as well be going in the wrong direction. Right. And so that's what I wanted to cover in another one key example of these phrases is the word SMART goal.

I learned that phrase, when I first came across it so well. I was so young, so I learned it with EEG, and then later I'm looking at it and I am so unhappy about the idea that they even created this phrasing because it's so wrong. It's a very narrow way of thinking to very small minded way of thinking. SMART goal implies that your goal is SMART Specific, Measurable, and I forgot what the A stands for but R is for related and then time limited. And so, if your goals measurable, how are you going to be excited by that.

Right. Your goal should be a huge goal, it should be ambitious because when you're ambitious you're like I'm excited. I don't know if I hit it but I'm excited.

Right. And I remember when I first learned before I learned the SMART goal, the way I used to set goals was I used to imagine a person taking archery right shooting a bow and arrow. And I would imagine if you're aiming an arrow to target at a distance. The best way to shoot that arrow so that you hit that target is to aim the error, a little bit higher, because gravity will always bring it down. And there's wind resistance so you also have to account for those things. And so I always set my goals by aiming higher. But then came the definition of SMART goal, which is counter-intuitive because it's silly. And so I began using that, and all my effort went under the roof.

Sorry, not under the roof, under the ground. Right. And the goal of what I'm saying here is the terminology we use can have detrimental effect in our ability to achieve what we want to achieve. Another key phrase to, to think about is success what is success for you.

Right, you need to define that because for most people success isn't one thing it's many things, right, you can be success in one area of your life and completely unsuccessful in another, like being successful in a relationship but not in business or in business but not in relationship, right, or not in health.

So there's all these aspects and so you, we need to become really good at defining this definition, and questioning the ones that we already believe in, we should question them and actually speak or propose our idea of another way of proving or viewing this, because, as a society.

The only way we can advance is if we can exchange ideas and methodology and question what is considered the norm, because if we don't, we're going to be doing what doctors in the 1900s, or 1600s, remember exactly, you were doing right, they may be they may have been doctors but operating without washing hands resulted in something called the Black Death of childbirth, right. And what was happening was these professional thinking they're doing something correct, but actually ending a lot of people's lives. And so in business, we can run into these kinds of scenarios where we believe our knowledge be right but it is not right.

Just because it sounds good and so catchy, doesn't mean it's right, right, and so we need to be putting ourselves in that position where, as entrepreneurs we are challenging because we are putting ourselves in a position to think and create solutions to the world's problems. And so our services don't just end with the solution we create our thoughts matters. And so being able to question and think about this. We can also help other entrepreneurs set the right goals. Right, and look after their health in better way. I don't think the government's in the schools are going to do it. I don't think they're going to do that. Right, so I won't go into my philosophy and other thinking thinking, coaches, I just wanted to share this idea in business that I think that I've learned, which is, you know, the idea of redefining words for yourself so that you can achieve your goals. If you're not happy the definition change it.

So, thank you so much for tuning in on this episode of the virtual entrepreneur, I hope you've gotten value from the idea of staying in your comfort zone and seeking your comfort zone, and I hope you'll think about other terminologies and also challenge yourself to expose them to give people another way of looking at those conditions in language because I believe they might just save one person struggling because they've been using the wrong words. Words of powers, don't they. That's why we use them right sales letters and all these businesses activities. So thank you for tuning in. I'll talk to you in our next episode of the virtual entrepreneur. Aside from that, have a wonderful evening.