In my past 3-ish months at Breaking Even, there’s been a pretty incredible learning curve. I never thought I’d be writing blog posts, or doing anything related to internet/social media/marketing, but here I am. In fact, most of the people I know are doing something they never imagined they’d be doing, and it’s pretty inspiring.
Hot Rod, 2007
These people who venture away from the well-trodden path of the familiar, into the unknown, weird, strange and most likely uncomfortable, seem to get the most out of life. I’ve been thinking about how my comfort zone affects my professional and personal growth, and had 3 general ideas:
- Newton’s First Law can be applied to the idea of comfort zones. This is the law of inertia: an object at rest will definitely stay at rest. For purposes of this post, we’ll assume the object in question is me, and rest is equivalent to my comfort zone. I would stay there in my little shame-cave of self-doubt and familiarity until the end of times, but luckily for me, the surrounding world is not static. We’re all getting pushed or nudged to break out of our zones. When life gives us opportunities, perhaps a job in a field we hadn’t previously considered, it’s fine to do a cost-benefit analysis, but don’t let discomfort be what holds you back. Spontaneous is cool, recklessness, not so much.
- Times are A-Changin’: Adaptation is probably one of the most important survival skills in the wild (pretty sure Darwin said that, but my education re-routed from Biology to English after a year, so don’t quote me on it). It’s also necessary in the world of technology and media. Sure, I’d LOVE to cling to iOS 7 forever and ever, or my Facebook layout from 2009, but neither of those are possible. Keeping an open mind about change (especially the inevitable kind) makes life move a bit smoother. One coping mechanism for me involves changing my ‘tude from “I want it back the way it was before OR ELSE” to “Hey look, a new learning opportunity! How wonderful!” It doesn’t always work, but software (and everything) is going to continue updating- whether or not I’m comfortable with it.
- You’ll Never Know If You Don’t Go: My biggest weak spot involves talking. Out loud. To people. Getting out of my comfort zone usually means using my voice. It’s something that I’ve been easing into at Breaking Even. During my first month, I agreed to tag along to a conference where Nicole was presenting, and felt waves of social anxiety upon realizing I’d have to interact with strangers. Our Tech Thursday videos used to stress me out, as well (not only do I have to talk in front of a camera, I have to watch it later…eek). Since then, I’ve been trying to participate in more networking events (Business After Hours, local events, meetings, spontaneous activities with friends), to the point where I’m the “Yes Man” for social gatherings. Sure, I still have bouts of anxiety in social settings, but then I remember everyone else does, too.
There are some benefits to exploring life outside the comfort zone (such as increased creativity AND productivity), Now, I look at my comfort zone as a place to chill out and recharge between adventures. Looking forward to discovering what another 3 months will bring!
Food for thought