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The Pros and Cons of Relying on your Comfort Zone

There are so many sayings and catchy lines out there about taking risks and being bold that it almost seems like a bad thing to dwell and enjoy your own little comfort zone.

The truth is that comfort zones exist because people need them.

Comfort zones provide familiarity and shelter from many of life’s scariest and most intimidating moments.

Comfort zones give people a break from the challenging things they are going through, while simultaneously serving as something that can help them recharge and take on the challenges they need to confront in the future.

There comes a point when holding on to these comfort zones turns into something that is no longer beneficial, and it may even be damaging.

For instance, a hardworking employee might pass up a chance for a promotion even though he deserves it because the new position carries greater responsibilities. It can be easy to shun it and retreat into a comfort zone, and in the process, a great opportunity is wasted.

That’s obviously not ideal, and it’s also not ideal when even the smartest risks are not taken simply because they threaten the concept of the comfort zone.

Comfort zones are helpful and needed, but they should not be relied upon all of the time.

Being risk-free is fine to a certain point, but being too afraid to take chances of any kind is one way to go nowhere fast.

Every now and then, it’s wise to leave behind the comfort zone and embrace uncertainty and take a leap of faith, especially when taking a chance that may never present itself again.

Comfort zones can keep a person emotionally balanced, but not detached and afraid.

A comfort zone is, after all, just a zone. There’s a wonderful world waiting to be explored outside of it, and it’s one worth taking the risk.

 

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Inspiring employees to give their best performances

People have varied reasons for working the jobs they do.

Many may be at their current jobs out of necessity, since working a job that they may not like all that much is still better than having no reliable source of income.

Some may be fortunate enough to have jobs that they are extremely passionate about, allowing them to earn money while also living their dreams.

There’s definitely something that makes people work. The reasons may vary, but for an employer, a better question to ask is what can make an employee work better.

Employers are constantly looking for ways of inspiring employees to give their best performances. But it’s rarely enough to just give them important responsibilities or high salaries to get them motivated and working their best.

Instead of offering material gains or greater power, employers can motivate their people better by letting them understand that the different tasks they are asked to accomplish every day matter.

Employers can further detail the importance of a particular employee’s role and in the process make that individual understand that they are not just some cog in a machine.

If they are given more information, and it is revealed to them that the tasks they complete are essential, then they may be able to respond by producing higher quality output even on normal days at work.

Inspiring employees as opposed to simply providing them with incentives to chase after is the better way to draw out their best work, and it can even remain effective over an extended period of time as opposed to just serving momentary motivation.

The employees that work because they are inspired to do so are the ones companies will really want, as their desire to make a real difference can also lead to bigger and better things for everyone involved.

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Staying positive in the midst of challenges

Trying times come for everyone. They may be the unpleasant yet necessary parts of life that help define and shape people, but it’s hard to recognize them as such in the moment.

When different events in your life are seemingly conspiring to bring you down, seeing the positive side of things becomes extremely difficult, if not downright impossible to do, which is unfortunate.

It’s unfortunate because these most difficult of times are when people most need to keep their attitudes upbeat and their thoughts positive. However, it’s not always that simple.

Before the downward spiral, it’s easy to repeat positive platitudes in order to prepare yourself for what’s to come, but when it actually comes to putting those platitudes into practice, it’s not quite as simple as anymore.

Staying positive in the midst of challenges can be a struggle in itself. But, you should never lose hope.

What that entails is recognizing that the situation you are in currently is probably not ideal, but also not losing sight of the likelihood that things will not stay that way permanently.

When you take it upon yourself to actually evaluate what is going on in your life and more specifically, when you try to figure out why things are going wrong, then you will gain important insight into your situation that may have otherwise gone undiscovered if you just wallowed in negativity.

By staying positive and evaluating your situation carefully, you may even be able to find out that this bad stretch is coming to an end soon enough, and that hope and help are indeed on the way.

If things are starting to go wrong, one of the worst things people can do is to just let things happen. Instead, they need to at least try to objectively examine what’s going on and realize that bad things come to an end too.