Is Your Comfort Zone a Boon or a Bane?

In our first of two summer reruns, we consider whether your comfort zone is an enemy or a friend. This post originally ran in May 2023.

Countless introverts have experienced a harangue from a parent, teacher or business coach along these lines: Don’t be such a wimp! You’ve got to put yourself out there/learn public speaking/make cold calls/become more popular. You don’t want to? You don’t enjoy it? You’d rather stay home and read? Too bad! Life isn’t meant to be comfortable.

Is there anything at all valid in such advice? Or in the somewhat kinder version: You’re selling yourself short if you don’t try things you don’t like. How can you know you wouldn’t enjoy ballroom dancing/networking meetings/running for office unless you give it a good solid try? Come on, you know I only want the best for you.

Read the rest of the original article.

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