How Comfortable Is Your Comfort Zone?

While I'm not a disciple of change for its own sake, I believe it is important to be aware of how personal patterns of thought and action impact our daily lives. Here are three common "blankets" that keep soloists snuggled in their comfort zone. How many can you identify in your own business?

1. Fear of failure.
Here's the biggest reason for turtle-like behavior. It's so much easier not to risk making a fool of oneself, and to push away any feelings of doubt and anxiety. Ironically, it's not stretching one's boundaries that leads to failure, however, particularly in our face-paced, dynamic world. Scan your own behavior patterns and see where you're avoiding risk. Take a conscious step toward trying something new -- whether it's a small action or a major undertaking.

2. Overwhelmed with opportunities.
Faced with a surfeit of possibilities, many soloists choose to do nothing. Sometimes that can be a prudent path, but more often, it leads to stagnation. As theologian Harvey Cox observed: "Not to decide is to decide." Avoid the paralysis that comes from the self-imposed pressure of making a "perfect" choice. Assess the options. Choose. Act.

3. Procrastination.
The thing about being in your comfort zone is that it is so, well, comfortable. "I can always do that tomorrow," we tell ourselves. Only that "tomorrow" can extend to weeks, months, or sometimes years. If there are items on your To-Do, Want-To, or Goals list, I encourage you to stare them down. Either chart a specific deadline, or scratch them from the list. For those that remain, determine the next action step -- and do that. The larger goal may be intimidating, but often the smaller pieces stretch us in more subtle ways. Multiple incremental accomplishments can aggregate into a major achievement -- with little mental resistance or discomfort.

Whether you're a longtime solo entrepreneur or a relative newcomer, it's easy to become complacent in your comfort zone. How are you going to stretch today?

-- Terri Lonier
Founder, WorkingSolo.com

P.S. Thanks to the many readers who emailed me after last week's 100th issue. It's always nice to hear from fellow soloists, and your heartfelt wishes were particularly appreciated. If you missed that issue -- or the 99 previous ones -- check out the Working Solo Minute online archives.