If you read my earlier post, you may already understand that a comfort zone can be a self-constructed trap. It is the mechanism you construct to avoid any exposure to events, ideas, and people who might cause you distress. It is the barrier that will hold you back in life especially if you are an artisan, a musician or a writer.
If you are having difficulty following this train of thought, here are some examples from life. You are hiding in a "comfort zone" if you are doing any of the following:
1. Avoiding situations where you have to discuss the price of your wares or services with potential customers.
2. Avoiding contact with situations where you have to speak or perform publicly.
3. Listening to those who tell you that you should not try to write, paint, sing, play because you are not expert enough. They always say they are telling you this, of course, "for your own good". These are the people who criticise other's art instead of creating it themselves.
4. Staying in a job or relationship that is slowly grinding you down to a shadow of your former self, because to leave it would mean that you would have to go out and meet new people.
If any of the four examples apply to you, the first step in handling it is to understand that you are the only person who can do something about it. Nobody else can do it for you. Others can encourage you, but you must recognize that your "comfort zone" is self-constructed.
You might think that your solution is to become more competent at your craft. That is always necessary, but it will not move you out of the trap you have constructed for yourself. You need to reach out to new people and find out what they want and are willing to pay for. That is not "selling", it is the very essence of marketing!
It is this gradual reaching out that will show you who wants and can afford what you have to provide. It is essentially a social activity and it requires more listening than trying to convince someone.
It is far easier to find customers who like what you have to offer than it is to convert people who hold contrary opinions.
Think of it this way, other people have comfort zones too! Their comfort zones may not include trying new things like your products or services. They are set in their ways. Don't waste time educating them when there are people who already are looking for what you have to offer.
Life is short. Spend it with people who care about you and your products. Find them instead of trying to convert the unwilling.
Good luck!
Can I suggest another piece of evidence?
Avoiding discussions of "touchy" subjects, such as religion, politics, or diet, for fear of offending someone or getting into heated debates.
Granted, there are some people you just can't have such discussions with. While they might otherwise utilize logic when discussing some topics, somehow they shut down their logic centers when discussing one of these topics.
"Eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods while getting some exercise would be better for your health" can be met with "I don't eat bunny food", for instance. Well, case closed! You can continue to choose to have health problems with a smile on your face because you had a nice, witty comeback to a statement that threatened your world view. Good for you! You managed to avoid taking responsibility for your actions once again!
I avoided using politics as my example because I was spending too much time trying to write something with watertight facts that I knew were going to be ignored by convervatives and liberals alike, and I would like to spend my time doing something productive. B-)
Posted by: GBGames | Sep 25, 2006 at 12:35 PM
There is a quote from experimental filmmaker Luther Price that applies very nicely here: “If you ain’t what you is, you is what you ain’t.” Mr. Price may not be a role model for many others but he certainly stays true to himself. This is more than most people can say.
Too many of us give up on dreams because they seem unattainable, pass on opportunities because they involve too much work, stay on the sidelines because it is safe. We are not living the life we would but the one we believe we could or the one others tell us we must.
Too often, we sell ourselves short, discredit our own ideas, downplay our own successes. We take comfort in our own limitations. We resign ourselves to our imagined flaws. It is as if we fear success more than we fear failure.
The ‘comfort zone’ is a place to hide out. But the place we choose to hide in is usually within ourselves; thus it is that we must find our own way out.
Posted by: Big Picture Guy | Sep 26, 2006 at 06:51 AM