There are very few things that are
as cliché as getting out of your comfort zone. Every day, you find newsletters that
stress the importance of stretching yourself. I am not a fan of clichés but
with the ski-season in full force, I got reminded again of the importance of
challenging your limits.
I am not the world’s best skier (and
that is putting it mildly). I only learned how to ski 4 years ago after decades
of fiercely refusing.
Standing on top of a hill, looking
down is way of out of my comfort zone. Every single time I need to take a deep
breath before throwing myself into the deep end. My husband is usually cheering
somewhere halfway, shouting good advice. I fall down and get back up, I take
classes to get better and I focus on all the techniques that I learned over the
years.
Being able to get downhill in a
flowing motion makes me feel like I can conquer the world.
Sitting on the ski lift, I started
thinking as how similar building up a career is to learning how to ski.
Every time you take up a new
challenge is getting out of that comfort zone. It is using the experience that
you have gained. It is all about developing yourself further through learning from
others and about having people encourage you.
Although being a cliché, stretching
yourself will allow you to perform better, to focus more. I hardly ever fall on
a red slope mainly because I concentrate. I know that I will have to use
everything that I have learned to make it downhill safely. On the slopes that I
have successfully tried before, I get distracted and my mind wanders off…guaranteed
recipe to fall down.
The different steps your career
should be like trying different slopes. Some will prove to be easier than
others but every single one should have some stretch in it to avoid that you
get the ‘been there, done that’ feeling and that you loose focus.
Getting out of your comfort zone
while keeping in mind the capabilities that you have but also knowing your
limits will in the end get you to where you want to be.
If you are getting to comfortable
at what you are currently doing, don’t hesitate to contact me and for the
others…enjoy the ride.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Isabel
Through a personalized and
tailor-made approach, Ingenium Executive Search aspires to assist you in
attracting the right talent that matches the DNA of your company
Follow me on Twitter
@IngeniumSearch
