Comfort zone and what makes your heart sing
Welcome back to another article! I hope you enjoyed reading my previous article on being at a crossroads in one’s career; where I shared my personal journey to becoming a Transformational Coach. If you have not read it, please take a few minutes to do so. I would love to hear your comments, and would appreciate it if you could share it with your network.
In this article, I want to share my thoughts on the term comfort zone and its relation to following your passion.
The literal definition of ‘comfort zone’ is a situation in which you feel comfortable and in which your ability and determination are not being tested. There are different views of whether the comfort zone is a beneficial state for one to be in or not. I will not attempt to provide a view to firmly support either argument as I believe that this is quite a complex topic that a ‘one size fits all’ stance is unlikely to hold true. For me, I assess the comfort zone state I am in based on whether I am content with where I am currently or not.
In the comfort zone state, you may find yourself at a stage in your life where your past efforts have provided you with a certain level of security and success. However, you may now be wondering if there is something else or another experience that you would like to explore. For me, that was the fire burning inside to explore a career as a Transformational Coach.
For you, it may be looking to pivot or change your current career trajectory. This would likely require you to move away from what has felt familiar and actively move towards new challenges. Your reasons for considering your next move are unique to you, however, I would like you to consider this question…What makes your heart sing? In other words, What is your Passion?
In a traditional model of addressing one’s comfort zone, there are a few stages that one can take into consideration. While the growth zone encompasses all of these different zones in its entirety, one of the important parts of this assessment is to take stock of where you are in the circle.
Before we delve deeper into the different zones, I want to preface by saying that there are benefits associated with any of these zones. The assessment is about the identification of where you are and how this can be used to make a decision on what you want to do next. Also, bear in mind that you can be in any zone in your life depending on which compartment you choose to look at. This could be personal life, professional life/career, hobbies, etc. For the benefit of this article, I will focus only on the ‘career’ compartment.
Having said that, let’s talk about the different zones.
COMFORT ZONE
The ‘first’ stage in the larger circle of growth. There are benefits of being in a ‘career’ comfort zone. Sometimes this could translate to you focusing your efforts on other compartments in your life or you being at a stage in your life where you are content with your career pathway. Identifying that you are in your comfort zone and making a conscious decision to follow your heart, can be the first important step in your journey to transform your career.
CHALLENGE ZONE
In a traditional model, this would be referred to as the “fear zone” however, here at Energise & Grow, we try to keep away from terminology that sounds negative and invokes a negative state of mind. A “challenge” on the other hand, brings about a sense of positivity and also invokes the need to overcome a target/work towards a goal, as opposed to pushing one away from it due to “fear”. If you find yourself at a crossroads in your career, and unsure what you want to do next, this is the zone where you begin to take stock and assess any potential challenges.
Some of these challenges could include wondering if it is too late at this stage in your life, the potential financial risks, and also having to potentially learn entirely new skills. For example, when I made a decision in wanting to become a Transformational Coach, the decision wasn’t an easy one and in fact, I’m still doing this part time as I am still working my way through these challenges.
For me, my main concerns included financial security – I have a growing young family of five – and also knowing that the space of coaching is already saturated, which meant that I would have to make my approach truly authentic and aligned with my core values. However, it’s a constant work in progress and while I continue to make my way through the Comfort Zone Assessment, I’ve been able to address my challenges, one at a time. For me, it comes down to understanding what I want to do, the difference I want to make, and taking a chance to explore what makes my heart sing; my passion!
LEARNING ZONE
The learning zone is where we can take advantage of the opportunities available to learn the skills required for our career journey. In this zone, it is also an opportunity to start putting into place the Habits and Systems you need to meet the challenges identified in the challenge zone. You start making decisions, holding yourself accountable, and find support systems that will help you reach holistic growth. In this zone, it’s common to also make habits continuous, show up consistently, and acquire new skills.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our previous indication and timeline of the near future has changed. As it turns out, there might not be a better time to seek new learning and opportunities. I strongly believe that this gives more reason to make the move, shift gears, and start focusing on how best we can pursue our passion.
GROWTH ZONE
While this would look like the last stage of growth in the assessment, growth is also a constant stage of learning and a work in progress. This is at the stage where we are conquering objectives, living our dreams, and setting new goals. It is not linear and doesn’t stop upon reaching this stage. The growth zone also brings about new options for exploration.
The assessment isn’t an easy one and it is not intended to be a linear process. As a result of attaining the goals we initially set, we can settle into a new normal; a new comfort zone where we are content with where we are in our journey.
Please remember that the path that lies ahead may change and can be different from one person to the next. Before I close out this article, I would like to leave you with another question or two. What could happen if you did/did not explore the change you want in your career/life?
It’s never too late to follow your passion and make your heart sing! The best time to start is now.
If there is anything else on your mind you would like to discuss, let’s have a chat about it. Simply click on the button below to arrange to have a chat with me.
