I read a great article in the Business Section of the Sunday New York Times (12/3/17), titled, “Why Trying New Things Is So Hard to Do.” The article reflects on the writer’s love of Diet Coke and his comfort with his choice of beverage, his 2 liters a day habit. Knowing that there are alternatives that might be more cost effective doesn’t motivate him and he won’t try a different brand because he is comfortable with what he is familiar with.
The moral of his story is not really about Diet Coke but how and why we are afraid to change the “status quo.” We all have a comfort zone, but if we fail to challenge ourselves, what are we missing?
The demographics of our country have changed. How many of us have “an automatic bias” in favor of the status quo?
As author Sendhil Mullainathan implies and well documented research bears out, we need to be open to Diversity and Inclusion in our workplaces and in our lives. You never know what good will come if you break out of your comfort zone and how much you miss if you don’t!