Why We Maintain Status Quo

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I was reading Sethâ€™s post. He is discussing why organizations shun the creative ideas.

I think we all do that, be it our personal lives or professional. The root cause is FEAR.

We donâ€™t want to tread the unknown path. We donâ€™t know what trenches, valleys and peaks we will encounter, if the terrain is unknown. And how will we conquer the abstract enemy. Nobody has ventured into that arena, so why bother. We often surrender to our fears.

Another thing is, comfort level. The things we are familiar with, we know how to deal with, if they trouble us. We all reside in our own known comfort zones. Slight deviation from this makes us highly skeptical and resentful. Time tested and proven formulas save us from venturing into abstract, undefined zones. We want to avoid taking painful decisions.

Losing what we have also put hurdles into implementing new ideas. Whatever you have amassed with your hard work and smartness may vanish due to some unproven idea also sends shivers down our spine.

Fear of failure also encourages us to remain within familiar boundaries. No one wants to be labeled as loser or failure in this success obsessed world. The fear of â€œWhat if this idea failed?â€? handcuffs our entrepreneurial spirit.

Comments

7 responses to “Why We Maintain Status Quo”

9/9/2006

Sudipta Chatterjee

The point is, how satisfied are you with your current position, and how desperate or how concrete is your ‘perceived’ happier position in life? I think for most people, this decides what they want to do, whether they want to take risks, whether they will venture into the unknown etc. If the current happiness factor is high, then the experiment or the perceived RoI takes a very low value and so you don’t experiment so much. However, if you are very dissatisfied with your position now and know for sure that the other position will make you very happy, then the chances are that you will be taking the risk. Ambition, they say 🙂
9/9/2006

Maverick

True!That is fear that has stopped history from racing and moving forward at an unimaginable pace.

btw i like ur new template
9/9/2006

AmitL

Hi,Alka…yes,Fear is the key…but,then,these fears come to those who are working for someone else,i.e. they fear for their job and future if they try to do something off the beaten track and it fails.So, everyone goes the way a herd of sheep goes(Bhed chaal as it is called).But,believe me,if the Boss gives one a free hand, there’s nothing like taking calculated risks and finding that more often than not,they succeed.:)(That’s my Dubai experience speaking.I went off the beaten track often enough,with full support from the Boss.)
9/10/2006

Amar

I think there is enough enterprenuership in all of us but then with other’s idea, things become diffcult unless you fully subscribe to the idea. Which is not the case normally. An fear of failure is in everything as we feel that we should be always winning over anything. Not many people can take failure in stride and learn from it so I think they take up the comfort position by not attempting any new idea.
9/11/2006

Manish

The change is the only thing in life which remains constant. If one can’t change, or rather doesn’t wanto to change, s/he is doomed.

Sometimes, not only fear but also stubborness is also responsible!

Remember how Japanese killed swiss watch industry with their electronic watches? At first this idea of electronic watches was presented before swiss companies but they stubbornly refused probably due to lack of forsight. They are in doldrums now!
9/11/2006

Manish

I have noticed that from social causes, you posts have recently shifted to managerial issues 🙂
9/12/2006

prancer

i greatly appreciate this post coz it rather envisages the adventurer in me…i have had major setbacks no doubt on unbeaten tasks…but then i can never be stopped for a long time…i will rebound coz that spirit in me is still alive…and there is no space or scope for fear…coz fear is death in itself…death of the real “you”… thanks Alka ji for a great post 🙂