We all know about the comfort zone. That place where we know what we are doing, who to talk to about it, how to get stuff done. It’s nice. But it can also be dull. We get bored, through lack of challenge.
So I encouraged you in the last post to break out of your comfort zone, despite the fear of uncertainty. It’s tough to make that choice, but at least it’s in our control.
There’s an extra layer of complexity when the choice is made for us…when our job goes away for example, and we are forced (encouraged?) to take another role or to leave and find another role ourselves.
I exchanged emails with someone this morning about that. She’s in a role that feels way beyond her comfort zone. Presenting to very senior people in her second language for example. That’s hard. She’s afraid that she’ll fail.
Now this could be an excellent learning experience. We know that people learn the most from experience. But they also need a chance to reflect upon how they might do this new thing, and then afterwards what they learned, and what they would do differently next time. That chance comes in two forms – time and support.
Sometimes our working world moves so fast and the expectations on us are so great that we feel as though we don’t have time to think and reflect. That’s a recipe for burnout.
Not only do we need time, but we need support from someone who is willing to be a sounding board in a non-judgmental way. We need someone who we can confide our fears in, so that we can figure out how to overcome them.
I’ve been lucky. I’ve created time and asked for support, so I am learning huge amounts outside of my comfort zone. Perhaps that’s not luck, but rather making a concerted effort to get what I need.
How can you change your luck, so that you can carve out time, and find the support you need to learn and grow outside your comfort zone?
If you liked this post, you might also like Five Great Fears and Boundless Friendliness
Clare, thanks for this post.
I think the only way to overcome or decrease such fears is to put yourself in the situation to experience.
It could be either you volunteer to do it or accept what your boss told you to do. I try to balance between the two so I can focus on what I want to do (former) while I can constantly get the opportunity to stretch (the latter). The latter case may often include work outside of your comfort zone, but one good thing about this is at least your supervisor believes you could somehow make it.
Specific to a challenge in presenting or facilitating in your non-native language, people’s expectation would vary depending on your current presentation/language level and the wish levels. You could decrease your fear by setting a reasonable small goal for you. For example, my focus right now is speaking clearly and using simple words so I can get the right message. Fluency is nice but not a must for now.