Toxic comfort is a condition that kicks in when one has reached a certain destination in their business journey. This is usually after a business has managed to break even in investment terms. At this stage of the  business, everything becomes easier.  Paying employees is no longer a struggle. The business starts to feel like a well oiled machine on autopilot.

Certain luxuries that were previously out of the question are suddenly affordable and readily available. This is the stage everyone looks to reach in any business. It is a stage where you have gained as much leanings as your are earning. Sadly, it is the period where comfort kicks in.

This is how comfort kicks in

The sales team whose target was to sign at least 8 new clients per month have started to deliver. Their delivery is however backed by the more than sales calls they made everyday since inception. But this is quickly forgotten and they start to base their new found success on the strength of their clients. They forget that losing a client takes an instance and replacing the same takes much more than a connection.

The same can be said about any other department that feels overwhelmed by new found stability. Comfort happens everywhere in the company. As if it were a virus,  the business owner may start to relax once they believe they have made it forever. Basically people relax and stop learning, leading to their eventual fall from privileged.

What does toxic comfort do?

Comfort is unconditionally accepting. It’s familiar like nostalgia while equally customised for and by you. Your Comfort is its own size and has its own boundaries. In the corporate world comfort can be your business partnerships, your sales targets, your preferred market share, or all of the above. It’s plush and it wraps itself around you after a long day.

[vc_video title="Toxic Comfort" link="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcLspUUaV5E"]

When you're in Comfort’s boundaries, you can be completely you, be it elated or disheartened, and it won’t judge you. In Comfort, we find peaceful rest. It’s where we can unwind and let our guard down.  It is worth pointing that any form of comfort can result in toxicity. It will support any lie and overlook negative habits just to keep you in its embrace. Toxic Comfort will lure you under the assumption that you can abandon the discipline and mentality you have used to get to where you are.

Many businesses slow down their growth when they become a subject of toxic comfort, in some cases this is where businesses come to die. Success in business is not a destination. its a continuous journey that can only be sustained by disruption, innovation and discipline.

How do you define your comfort zone?

It’s the place where “you feel comfortable and your abilities are not being tested.” In a second definition, the comfort zone is the place where “you don’t have to do anything new or different.”

We’ve all heard the saying to get out of your comfort zone. But what does that mean? It sounds like an easy phrase to throw around, but sometimes advice is easier to give than to take.

Luckily I’ve learned some things about the freedom that comes with trying something new and breaking out of boxes and restrictions — in most cases self-imposed. I’ve learnt that it may seem uncomfortable at first, but eventually it will bring your business, joy, excitement and opportunities.

Embracing new experiences can do more that enrich your life and business career. Those new experiences could change your life and the direction of your business.