Expanding your comfort zone

Brandeis University News

Does the prospect of networking at a conference or making small talk between business meetings make you want to curl up in a fetal position?When you see confrontation brewing, is your first instinct to head for the hills? Helping others extend their personal and professional goals is familiar ground for Andy Molinsky, professor of organizational behavior and international management at Brandeis International Business School. His 2013 book, “Global Dexterity: How to Adapt Your Behavior Across Cultures Without Losing Yourself in the Process,” advised people who work in cultures other than their own on how to adjust their behaviors yet remain true to their authentic self.
Now Molinsky has written “Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence,” which will be published by Avery in January.
Rooted in the observation that successful people are those most willing to tackle what they really, really don’t want to do, “Reach” outlines a three-prong approach to mastering the tasks you fear: develop a sense of conviction, customize your approach to the situation and avoid distorted thinking.
The book recounts anecdotes from people in a wide range of jobs — CEOs, farmers, investment bankers, clergy, military personnel and more — who explain how they were able to accomplish what originally seemed too daunting to try.
What inspired you to write this book?
I have always struggled to step outside my comfort zone. And when you search the internet for advice, much of it is purely inspirational: “Take the leap,” “Go for it,” “The magic happens only outside your comfort zone.” I’m an academic, so that line of thinking was completely unsatisfying to me.
What was missing was a road map for the way out — a set of tactics and strategies and insights that nudge you from fear and avoidance to actually making a change. ...

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