Recently, I had a casual conversation with my boss that got me thinking a lot. It made me realize that I had been in a comfort zone at work for some time. He feared that this would turn into demotivation over time. How should I react? —Judith
Your boss has demonstrated that he cares about your motivation and implicitly your long-term development. This is good news. But you are right to be a little perplexed by his concerns. “Getting out of your comfort zone” just like “thinking outside the box” or “having the right to make mistakes” have become mantras used by many people. coaches and managers, without concretely indicating what this means and implies for the person concerned.
Here are three ways to fuel your thinking and consider what comes next.
Become aware of your comfort zone
In the eyes of your boss, you are in a context where you would be confident and secure. While this can lead to a certain routine, there is also the benefit that expectations are well-defined and anticipated uncertainty or risks are within the realm of the known, which certainly contributes to your performance at work. You are therefore in full control of your work.
So, staying in your comfort zone by choice makes sense when you fully embrace it. Especially if you’re saving your energy for something else. For example, if you have young children or are caring for aging parents, this would be a great strategy to keep you balanced. You might also have passions outside of work or have to deal with health issues forcing you to limit your ambitions.
On the other hand, your comfort zone could represent a wall to be knocked down if you come to the conclusion that to remain still or stagnate is to go backwards. In particular, if you feel stuck in a routine, you consider that you have underutilized potential or talents, you feel an increasingly pressing need to renew yourself or gain creativity, then getting out of the box becomes a beneficial step.
It is therefore essential to recognize that each person has a unique relationship with their comfort zone and that leaving or staying there must remain a decision in accordance with their values, their own needs and their aspirations. If you think the time is right for a reconsideration, I encourage you to take it in two steps.
Expand your comfort zone
The idea of venturing out of your comfort zone isn’t just about changing everything overnight. You can go there gradually by pushing your limits. In other words, while maintaining your current situation, it is possible to create moments of discomfort by making small changes or adjustments to your routine.
You might seek to collaborate with new colleagues at work, speak up more in meetings, support a cause, travel to foreign countries to interact with people of different ethnicities and religions, explore activities that you have always wanted to do. , sign up for training outside your field or set yourself goals to surpass yourself.
Each small victory over your habits will help reduce your risk of stagnation, but above all to gain confidence and strengthen your resilience. Exploring new approaches or ways of doing things allows you to tame your feeling of vulnerability in anticipation of more clear-cut or daring transformations.
Get out of your area comfort
Getting out of your comfort zone means facing uncertainty and possibly questioning certain beliefs in relation to what you believe to be your personal limitations. It is therefore agreeing to confront oneself and adopting a growth mentality on a personal and professional level. A good example of this is taking a professional break or sabbatical in order to facilitate real self-questioning.
You could also get involved in major initiatives or projects at your employer, to develop new skills and gain confidence when the time comes to deploy them. But be careful, research on goal setting has documented the relationship between the level of challenge we set and the learning we gain from it. This relationship takes the form of an inverted U. Not enough challenges and you are at risk of stagnating, while too many and rapid challenges significantly raise stress or anxiety levels, which can set you up for failure. In fact, the best thing is to look for a series of challenges that stimulate you without strangling you, with plateaus to allow you some recovery.
If your willingness to change is high, you might also consider a radical career transition, such as a lateral career move into another field or starting fresh with a new employer, perhaps even in a different industry. So, we must not neglect the importance of having good support.
Finally, be on the lookout. If you intend to step out of your comfort zone, be aware that fear of the unknown, of failure and of social criticism are all obstacles that can bring you back to the status quo and your attachment to feeling. security.