In our line of work, we attempt to move people out of their comfort zone all the time, often finding that this is when they make the greatest strides both personally and professionally. Occasional forays into discomfort are healthy and outright avoidance of this state leads to several problems:

• Failing to develop confidence in yourself that you can deal with tough situations.
• Failing to resolve problems and dissipate tension around situations.
• Feeling bored, empty and dissatisfied.
• Procrastinating difficult tasks.
• Being seen as negative and complaining.

Low Discomfort Tolerance, a concept developed by psychologist Albert Ellis, arises from believing that discomfort is intolerable and therefore must be avoided at all costs. Do you catch yourself thinking:

• I should be able to feel happy all of the time.
• I must be able to feel comfortable all of the time.
• Discomfort and pain are intolerable and I must avoid them at all costs.
• I must not feel bad.
• I must have certainty in my life.

Unfortunately many of us have a tendency to avoid “unpleasant” situations in the workplace. We rationalize that we don't want to step on toes, hurt someone’s feelings, open a can of worms or rock the boat. We polled office workers to find out what three things they are most likely to avoid or to try to escape, and they were, not surprisingly:

• Conflict
• Meetings
• Feedback

How fitting then, that we'll be examining the top two in this issue of THRIVE, and how adding conflict to meetings makes both of them more fruitful for participants.

Remember, work is an adventure…be prepared!

Ed Tilley
President
Adventure Associates, Inc.