Our comfort zone isn’t really comfortable

 It is in our human nature that we are curios and like to try new things. My one-year old niece Sophia inspires me, whenever she shows her curiosity by starting to go from one room to another and eventually exploring all my drawers. Meanwhile, the hardest task is letting her sit beside her parents, when they visit neighbors. Undoubtedly, the reason is that she is wondering, what stuff are there in the new drawers? For Sophia, sitting by her parents is not always the comfortable place, despite the fact, that it is the safest place. If they force her to stay, she will start crying. Now, we understand that curiosity is in our nature, but in this blog, I will prove to you that our authentic selves despise our comfort zone, which is the first hindrance to starting a business.

Children are always interested in what’s new and they explore objects around them through their own methods, such as tasting, smelling and touching. As much as it is within us to be pathfinders, surprisingly, there are things that kill our innate curiosity*. Dr. Gail Brenner defines comfort zone as, a place that is only in our mind, we create it to feel safe by keeping the things we know and are familiar with, as well as excluding the things we afraid of or are uncomfortable about. Whatever the reasons that try to push us into the safe zone and stop us from getting out of the box, they are against our nature. We were born with zero knowledge and our nature drives us to explore, question and learn our environment.

• Environment:  Receiving only negative comments in school, home and work.
• Fear of failure: Unforgettable negative experience and self-doubting
• Standard culture: Lack of diversity, one mind-set, group thinking and extreme hierarchical culture.

Everyone has their own dream. Weather you picture yourself as rich, a hero, a leader, your dream probably includes at least one thing that you want to make, change or a problem you want to solve. Luckly, making a change is also in our nature. Back to Sophia, if she isn’t comfortable with her hat and gloves, she unstoppably tries to get rid of them, even if her parents force and beg her. Sophia inspires me again by showing me, that it’s within my nature to desire to make a change.

Starting a business can begin by having or searching for an idea. If you have an idea, you have to draw your business plan and include your market research and other standard tasks. If you still don’t have an idea, you must think out of the box, explore and experience new things, where you can make a change and solve a problem.

Burying our curiosity and the drive to make a change through a business, will distance us from our dreams and tempt us to stay in the comfort zone. That is exactly what makes us uncomfortable.