When was the last time you experienced something that was way out of your comfort zone? Last summer my husband and I were in an auto accident. Someone who was driving too fast hit our pickup truck from behind causing it to roll 2 ½ times. By God’s provision neither of us were seriously injured, nothing was broken and we didn’t require stitches. But it was a wakeup call for me, there are so many things I want to do in life, but all of them require that I get out of my comfort zone.
I have had on my goal list for several years to walk in a 5K and to hike to Hanging Lake Falls in the mountains near Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Both are things I was not healthy enough to do. This year, I finally got out of my comfort zone and signed up to walk a 5K. That meant I also had to start walking on a daily basis to get ready. Yes I missed a few days but for the most part I have been getting ready for this walk. I also made plans with my brother and sister-in-law to hike up to Hanging Lake Falls next year for my birthday. That gives me 11 more months to prepare. I will do it because my granddaughter deserves to not only have me here but to have me healthy enough to do things with her as she grows up.
When I started my accounting business over 15 years ago I was way out of my comfort zone. I was never very good at math, as a matter of fact I hated basic math. I had even decided in elementary school that I would never need math and therefore never learned my multiplication tables. However I loved algebra (they use letters instead of numbers in algebra!) and statics. Somehow, that lead me to accounting; which I soon learned is not really about math. It is more like putting together a jig saw puzzle – something I have always loved doing. In order to find the career I love I had to get out of my comfort zone, learn to deal with the numbers (I still prefer algebra), and stop playing it safe.
Recently I found an interesting quote about leaving your comfort zone from one of the top chef’s in the world:
“I found myself in a very fortunate position at the age of twenty-two, where I got my ass kicked in France and I learned how to cook. And I always say to my young chefs, become vulnerable. Get yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s a great learning experience. I think today everyone plays it safe too much. ” – Gordon Ramsay
After reading that, I realized that even though I work with <gulp> numbers, my business was in a comfort zone. I had to stop playing it safe and do things that scared me or my business would never grow. One of those things was that I had to learn how to create videos. That also meant I had to trust someone else with a portion of my business. Namely, I had to hire someone to edit those videos, that was way out of my comfort zone but I did it. He has even got me thinking about allowing him to use a real camera and film me instead of using Power Point slides where no one can see me on screen.
So how are you playing it safe? Is that hampering your business or personal life? Tell me what you are doing to get out of your comfort zone and start moving forward again.