Did you get hit with a hefty dose of hustle posts on social media at the start of the year?
If not, then by now you have probably come across many influencers suggesting you optimise your morning routine, improve your habits, and that life begins outside your comfort zone.
To some extent, going outside your comfort zone does really help push you further. But, and a recent article I read confirmed this, there is plenty of growth possible when you’re inside your comfort zone.
It’s stressful and entirely unnecessary to constantly live up to expectations set by the outside world, so today I want to encourage you to think about that comfort zone of yours and how it allows you to grow as a person and as a professional.
What do you want to get better at?
There are probably a number of things – personally and professionally – that you’d like to become better at. Maybe it’s learning a programming language, becoming a better public speaker, improving your interviewing technique as you grow your team, or making the perfect gravy for your Sunday roast.
For me, these three topics are at the top of the list:
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Being more present, which involves removing distractions, reducing screen time and cutting down my to-do list
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Worrying less, which means mentally scheduling time to deal with things, rather than fretting about them as they arise
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Further developing my public speaking skills, including helping others become better public speakers
None of these three make me leave my comfort zone, but they’re all challenging because they require change, new ideas and trying things I haven’t done before.
How can you grow inside your comfort zone?
In my experience there is time for learning new things and pushing yourself into new and uncharted territory, and there is also time for turning what you’ve learned into experiences and growth.
You can’t constantly fill your brain with new stuff from books, TED Talks, seminars, online courses, and expect to see an immediate result. You’ll feel like your learning a lot but you’re not giving yourself the time and space to actually apply your knowledge.
That’s where your comfort zone comes in. It allows you to keep a number of things are they are, e.g. your work environment, your exercise routine, etc., while you’re changing just one small thing, e.g. reading a book and taking notes of the ideas from it that you want to implement and then purely focusing on those things you want to add.
You don’t need to hustle
I’m not saying don’t challenge yourself. But remove the stress that comes with hustle culture and the popular approach to binge on information and knowledge.
You’re better off reading 5 books a year and really getting something out of them to change your life, instead of reading 52 books a year and never taking action on anything you’ve learned.
You’re better off going a bit slower but being deliberate about your progress and growth, than rushing things and building your career on shaky foundations that eventually come crumbling down.
I used to think I had to leave my comfort zone a lot to make the most of life. And I did it too, moving to foreign countries, taking on challenging roles and making big life decisions. They all helped me grow – no doubt about that. But the slower pace I used in between was what I needed to solidify long-term changes in my life and to become the person I wanted to be.
I hope you can experiment with growing inside your comfort zone and take this as encouragement to move at your own pace.
Have a great week!
Eva