Comfort Zone?

Comfort Zone?

by Finau Siale

 

A team member from one of our vendors and I were talking the other day, he mentioned that he cannot wait until peak is over, just to have a few days straight with no changes, no due dates, no new initiatives, no upgrade or new technologies and just come to work on his time and be comfortable. Comfort certainly has its advantages – our comfy chair in the living room, on occasion-a comfortable routine at work, or a comfortable relationship, all of these and more offered benefit to each of our journey. However, with all the advantages of comfort, here are some things we should consider about the comfort zone.

The comfort zone is where most of life is played. It is certainly where most of sports are played. Consider a football field: 80 percent of the game is played in the middle of the field between the 20-yard lines—that is the comfort zone. Anything outside that area is the “Red-Zone” or the uncomfortable zone; it’s where the victorious momentum is made at each end of the football field. If you are playing defense and the opposing team are in your red-zone driving to score and your team is able to held them off, there’s a degree of victorious sensation throughout the defensive players. Much like, if you are the offense and your team scored, most certainly, it is a sense of enormous accomplishment. 

It’s safe in the comfort zone. We know the boundaries, the landscape, and the other comfortable players. There is little to no risk; a misstep here and there is not very costly. A team can usually recover from a turnover in the comfort zone. Unlike a turnover in the red zone, this could cost a team the game. Thus, the football team that’s trapped in the middle between the 20-yard lines, again, cannot win from the comfort zone.

Winning and losing happen in the Red-Zone; learning and growth occurs when we are uncomfortable. Think about some of the defining moments of learning and growth in your life. Were you hanging out in your comfort zone? No, you were hanging out near the edge and often uncomfortable. Lets challenge ourselves and step into the Red-Zone, be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Much like most of the Super Bowl Champion’s teams of past years, they typically have the highest percentage of plays in the Red-Zone which led to the highest percentage of scoring. Consequently, they’ve learned how to live in the Red-Zone. Yes, it is comfortable to be in the comfortable zone but winning can only be realized at the Red-Zone.  

Let me end with this: Last week, a reporter from the Seattle Times asked Geno Smith (Seahawks Quarterback) about his time as a Journeyman Quarterback in the NFL, from the Jets, Giants, Chargers, and seven years later, onto the Seahawks. Reporter asked: “Was that tough?” Geno Smith replied, “I can’t really say it was tough because I have been so blessed.” He also added: “Honestly, my tough times would be dream to someone else. I never will look at it as something too hard.” Whether we are on the red-zone or just on the field. Keep in mind, where we’re at now would be dream for someone out there.

The bottom line is, we ought to feel grateful that we are on the field because there are several out there that wish that they are also on the field like us. Moreover, as long as we are on the field, let’s not settle on the comfort zone, we give it our all and drive onto the Red-Zone, here we come—Peak Victory!  

taken from

“Winners Always Quit”

by Lee J. Colan, David Cottrell