Comfort zone

According to PsychCentral: "A comfort zone is a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person, and they are at ease, and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and stress. In this zone, a steady level of performance is possible."^[1]

Having a growth mindset increases a person's comfort zone. According to Western Governors University: "A growth mindset means that you thrive on challenge, and donât see failure as a way to describe yourself but as a springboard for growth and developing your abilities. Your intelligence and talents are all susceptible to growth. Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University first talked about the power of mindset nearly 30 years ago. Carol Dweck and her team became interested in the attitude of students when it comes to failure. After studying the behavior of students and children, the term âgrowth mindsetâ came about. Simply put, this mindset means that you believe in your ability to become better through hard work, and help from others."^[2]

Having an achievement orientation and goal setting increases a person's desire to expand their comfort zone.

Making small changes over time is one strategy to expand one's comfort zone as it gets the process of change started (See: Kaizen).

Change management and comfort zones

See also: Change management

Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with the transition or transformation of a [person's]/organization's goals, processes or technologies. The purpose of change management is to implement strategies for effecting change, controlling change and helping people to adapt to change."^[3]

Approximately 80% of organizational change attempts fail and it is often lower for individuals.^[4] Having a sense of urgency and having a sufficient speed of change to overcome organizational inertia is a key to effective change management.^[5]^[6]