Three reasons to step out of your professional comfort zone

Words by Philippa White

With so many opportunities out there to step out of your comfort zone, the real challenge is grabbing hold of them.

As we have become increasingly busier in our professional lives, it can be hard to make that transition to try something different, step away from what we know, to truly grow and to push our own personal limits.

We feel very little sense of risk in our comfort zone, it’s a place where life feels pretty good without anxiety as we only have to use a limited set of behaviours to perform.

However, existing within that comfortable space, that comfort zone, can be very limiting and doesn’t really offer much incentive for us to be the best we can be. It involves no risk, and simply doesn’t push us to achieve higher and different levels of performance in different aspects of our lives.

As comfortable as that space might seem, I would go as far as saying that staying in your comfort zone blocks growth and progress, and because of this, improvement, achievement and success becomes just that much more difficult to achieve.

What happens is, when you choose to stay “safe” from critics, exposure and risk you essentially give up your right and power to be and do your best, plateauing, and in the end, this compromises your progress in life and work.

And, who would want to live in that way?

I truly want to urge everyone reading this to find the courage within you to move intentionally away from that “safety cocoon” and be willing to take a risk and face the possibility of failure. This will turn your mindset into “growth mode”, which will then expand what is possible for you and open opportunities.

By making a truly conscious effort to leave your comfort zone and take healthy risks in your life, it really will help you to become the best version of yourself and excel professionally.

Here are some tips on how you can leave your professional comfort zone and why you should:

Expand your personal and professional circle.

Widen the circle of people you spend your time with. Talking to people in different industries about what they do is fascinating, as it opens channels in your thinking you didn’t know were there.

It also will make you better! Your cultural background, which has to do with race, nationality, language and upbringing, defines your imagination and what you are capable of inventing, your powers of creativity. Trying to come up with something new when you only work with people from the same background, is very unlikely. Expanding your circle will also enable you to empathize more, be more culturally intelligent and see things in new ways, it will literally be your superpower.

Embrace the unexpected and the difficult and find inspiration in these challenges.

If you try and do things differently, it will unlock new thinking in you and enable you see the world in new ways. For example, as well as reading things you love, try reading material outside of your comfort zone. If you don’t usually read it, have a look at the Financial Times. You’ll be surprised at how it can be inspiring in unexpected ways.

Allow your inner child the freedom to be curious and find inspiration.

As children, we’re naturally curious – it’s how we grow and learn. But then what happens is, as we get older, that sense of wonder starts to escape us. Don’t let it!! Curiosity is a powerful tool. Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein and Paul Smith all share a similar trait. Curiosity. So try and listen without judgment, ask lots (and I mean lots!) of questions, look for opportunities to be surprised and make time for curiosity and being fully present. It’s a wonderful world out there, just waiting to be discovered!