Let’s be honest with ourselves: Significant change hurts. How often do we plan change? Every month? Hardly. Whenever we feel like it? Not really. Most of us postpone it until a new year is about to start. We make some resolutions on what we shall do differently this new year. Until we fall back to the normal, usual mode, because some hardship came our way, so we can blissfully excuse ourselves.
To understand why change is so elusive, let’s take a moment to slip into our mental slippers and step inside the Comfort Zone. What is so good about the comfort zone? The obvious. It is where we want to be. Let me tell a short joke to explain it.
A man is lying lazily on the beach, basking in the sun—firmly in his comfort zone. Nearby, there’s a rowboat. Another man approaches and scolds him:
- Why are you just lying there doing nothing?
- What should I be doing?
- Get in that rowboat and catch some fish. You can sell them and make some money.
- And then what?
- If you keep at it, you’ll earn enough to hire help and get a second boat.
- So what?
- Well if you keep working diligently and buy up to 4-5 boats and employ their crew, you will be able to delegate all the work to others.
- Why should I do that?
- Eventually, you’ll have a whole fleet of boats and a crew to run them. You’ll be able to relax while your employees do the work.
- But what am I doing right now?
Critical readers would argue that after growing a business, the man would enjoy more security and stability with some money in the bank. Well, have you seen many entrepreneurs that after some success, they say “enough with work”, they slam on the brakes and enjoy their riches, sipping cocktails by a pool, wearing smile no. 23 on their faces with no worries about their business? I haven’t.
The lazy person of the story is living part of the dream right now. They are neither risking nor postponing gratification. They have a piece of happiness right now and that feels comfortable.
To give another example: If you want to lose weight so you can enjoy sweets without guilt, I have a secret for you: You can enjoy sweets today, with a little bit of guilt. You will never change your habits unless you change the definition of comfort.
How do you do that? By thinking about your new state as it is achieved. What can you do that you previously could not?
Suppose you bought a winning lottery ticket and you are about to claim 7 million dollars in a month. You will think about what you will do with that extra money, how your life will change. You will look everywhere around you and decide what to keep and what to change. Alas, after two weeks, due to some technicality, your ticket is invalid. Now your current way of living seems unbearable, too poor for your new standards. Your new comfort zone will be some million dollars away. Your mind will be working day and night to find ways to restore the new comfort zone.
So, dear entrepreneur: Have you envisioned your life as someone running a viable business that grows? What does success look like? How will your days unfold? Is it better or worse than what you do now? What will you be able to do that you can’t do now? What are you going to miss from your current life? How hungry are you to achieve a new way of being?
Your dreams define your actions. They just need to be vivid, detailed, and distinct from your current reality.
Once your comfort zone is somewhere ahead, you will move forward. The doubts, the hesitations, the subtle self-sabotage—they all fade away. You’ll acquire the knowledge, skills, and people you need, and step confidently into the future.
The key to change isn’t to resist comfort, but to redefine it.
