#ComfortZones #ChangingComfortZones #FindingComfortZones #CreatingComfortZones

To borrow from a Regions Bank TV ad, one does not get out of his or her comfort zone, he or she changes comfort zones.

Comfort zones are not always comfortable.

You may have a job that earns you a paycheck, and that you can do relatively easily.

But, it’s not necessarily getting you where you want to be in life.

Therefore, to get what you want, you may have to change comfort zones.

In this labor market, there are certainly available options for job changes.

So, what should you change to? It may depend on your education, experience and other things about you that employers may like.

It also may depend on how willing you may be to do something that perhaps you had never thought about doing.

Once you’ve decided on your new comfort zone, then you have to show your new employer that you are more than capable of doing the job.

That may not just entail doing the job correctly or smartly. It may involve doing it with enthusiasm.

Certainly, it may be difficult to be enthusiastic about some jobs. But, if they are rewarding enough in terms of pay and perks, you may need to use those rewards to ignite your enthusiasm.

If neither the job nor the rewards are stellar, you may have to consider doing something else.

Being happy at work has been an elusive goal for many. For some, the job is a means to an end. For others, the job could be simply a dead end.

Still, for others, a job may enable a person to do something outside of work that gives him or her joy. Perhaps one works for a living, but lives for children, family, hobbies etc. The work enables the other.

For some others, the work is the pleasure. It’s been said that if it were not “work,” they would not pay you. But those who love their jobs certainly want to get paid, but still love their work.

So, what, in work and life, gives you comfort, or makes you want to get up in the morning?

Are you not feeling either pleasure or comfort in your life? Such feelings don’t always come naturally, or serendipitously.

Sometimes, YOU have to look for them. In some cases, you can find them among your existing activities. In other cases, you have to find new activities to give you those feelings.

It’s OK to talk to friends or family – or a professional in more severe cases – to find out what may be missing in your life.

Often, the people you know best can either make you see the good things already in front of you, or spur you to find something different, or better.

So, if your comfort zone needs changing, it’s OK to change it. But, before doing so, figure out what you want from life. That will guide you toward either a comfort-zone change, or finding the comfort in your current zone.

There’s no need to slog in a fog when you can have fun in the sun.

Peter