The comfort zone is not your friend
Breaking out of your comfort zone is hard, emotional and takes courage. But if you stay there too long, it can somehow diminish your future.
Let me give you an example.
I have a fantastic idea for a conference. An event that could be super helpful, super interesting and of national interest. But it’s not what The Harrison Network usually does. In fact, it takes us well out of our comfort zone and into events organisation, which is a completely different type of business.
To do it well and do it justice would be hard.
To do it well would be expensive.
To do it well would be risky, scary, and set us up to fail.
Starting small or going all in?
Are there ways we could start small?
Well, yes. We could begin by doing a kind of taster event to gauge interest. Or maybe even just set up a WhatsApp group. Or maybe we shouldn’t do anything at all. After all, I’m already too busy doing everything else… Now there’s my procrastination monkey keeping me safe!
If I don’t do it, I am sure someone else will, because it is a good idea. And if someone else gets to do it, then someone else gets to be at the forefront of this thinking, rather than our business. If I don’t do it, the potential future is diminished. And my fear wins.
Now I’m not saying that I should always leap on every one of my ‘great’ ideas. I am an entrepreneur after all and have great ideas most weeks. And from a business point of view, starting small is a good idea.
What I am saying is that when we, as humans, look at decisions like this, we have a habit of choosing the safe option. The known option. The ‘stay in your comfort zone’ option.
I know that if I go for it, it will mean a lot of hard work, expense, marketing and potential failure. I’ll have to commit to making it happen. I’ll have to put myself out there (which is super scary). The potential rewards are high, but the risks feel terrifying. In fact, they make me want to hide under the proverbial covers and keep my idea in there with me.
And what if I don’t do it? There is no risk, expense or failure. Hurrah!
But there is also no future payoff that could come from running an awesome national conference.
Fighting the fear
To be honest, I actually still don’t know which option to go for. I’ll keep exploring and do my research before I commit. But I am darned sure I won’t let fear of leaving my comfort zone be a decision-making factor.
What are you doing this week to take yourself out of your comfort zone?
Author: Lucy Harrison, Director
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