Change and uncertainties can be brutal to our life and work. Mainly because it affects greatly the pendulum of our Psychological states.
Alasdair Antony Kenneth White is a British management theorist best known for his work on performance management from a behavioral perspective. He describes a Psychological state as 3 different zones of experience. These are The Comfort Zone, Optimal Performance Zone, and Danger Zone. Kenneth concludes that each of these zones sums up our mental image and realities.
According to White:
The first one, which is Comfort Zone are Stress-free Zones, a psychological state in which things feel familiar to a person and they are at ease and in control of their environment, experiencing low levels of anxiety and str
Casandra Brené Brown an American professor, lecturer, author, goes further to describe Comfort Zone (CZ) as: “Where our uncertainty, scarcity, and vulnerability are minimized—where we believe we’ll have access to enough love, food, talent, time, admiration. Where we feel we have some control.”
Please take note of the most recurring word: control.
The second one is the Optimal Performance Zone (OPZ). This is just outside of your comfort zone, where your performance is enhanced by some amount of stress. The whole idea about the OPZ is that there is a welcomed amount of stress and this stress is required to inspire and motivate us towards the unfamiliar for growth or gain.
At this level one is willing to lose some level of control and even become vulnerable. Such as keeping away from favorite food for weight gain, actional willingness to fail and lose admiration, extra routine for extra muscle and endurance, being “broke” for investment purposes, and taking the decision that may conflict with our love providers.
It is on record that embracing such stress levels increases Productivity and Growth. To some extent, I consider this as the Art of Stress.
Within the context of Performance Intelligence, this kind of stress is highly recommended, especially for those seeking to become remarkable. The idea is that anxiety in this regard improves performance until a certain optimum level of arousal has been reached.
The third one is the Danger Zone (DZ). This is a place outside and beyond the Optimal Performance Zone. This is where stress and anxiety cease to become arousal, or a motivating factor instead becomes a toxic force, which then affects your performance.
When you compare these models and the context of change, disruptions, and uncertainties, you will understand, why many are too afraid to change or welcome any form of disruptions. This is because ultimately everyone is afraid of losing control. Whether it comes in terms of changes or disruptions.
However, you need to realize that change and uncertainties are so human and unavoidable. COVID- 19, is a perfect example. For many, pre-COVID despite the challenges of the global world was fairly stable, but after the Pandemic hit, health suddenly became a luxury, jobs were lost, life became harder and people lost control of their lives. A situation that has increased the incidence of Stress, Anxiety, and even Depression.
At this point in our lives, I think that Transformation should become our number one keyframe. By framing and reframing our experiences in Transformation, winning, growth and progress will become fairly common.
For I see TRANSFORMATION as the: “The process of re-creating and upgrading your Principles, Vision, Values, and Strategy. That is the only way we can tackle the pendulum of change and disruptions and learn to lose control for the sake of gaining control.”
With Transformation, we can tackle the mental conditioning that comes with Comfort Zones as well as avoid the traps that the Danger Zone offers. Through this process, we can manage effectively the process of creating and operating mental boundaries that cause an unfounded sense of security.
Stress is human, common, and unavoidable, therefore to achieve growth and improve your performance, you must learn the Art of Stress, how to design home and work pressure, into a stimulus for inspiration and growth.
Unfortunately, you can only learn this through a body of skills known as Transformation Intelligence (TQ). TQ guides you to acknowledge these three paradigms:
- Not every change has the same direction.
- Not every disruption is a problem.
- Not every chaos is a disaster
With proficiency in Transformation Intelligence (TQ), you will earn a powerful diagnostic skill set for prioritization and change propensity for both personal and organizational needs.
Eventually, you will recognize that, like every problem, stress and pressures are not the culprits rather it is the way you respond to them.
So please, take a deep breath, just pause and re-evaluate then re-purpose and re-design your pressures.
I will be so glad, to get your response and questions. Please respond now! bornproff@gmail.com
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