Are You Comfy? Well You Shouldn't Be.

“Whenever you feel uncomfortable, instead of retreating back into your old comfort zone, pat yourself on the back and say, “I must be growing,” and continue moving forward.” – T. Harv Eker

Hectic, chaotic & at times the most stressful thing you can do. Daily we all have a choice, we have the option to set ourselves goals, build relationships & open the chances of new opportunities and hopefully have goals ticked off by the end of the day. Alternatively we can be unorganised, distracted and away with the fairies. Lately I have taken a withdraw from social media, focusing on other parts of my life as I found the distraction of the online world and the danger of social media becoming a comparison site to be one of the key facts that knock people of their course.

As you read this now you are probably on social media, why not take this time to see your screen time, just see how long you have spent on each app in the past few days, now imagine what you could've been doing during that time. I know you might be thinking "well tom if I don't have socials then I wouldn't be reading this" I understand that but the point here being, is the need for that balance.

Now that is out the way let's get back to our main topic. We all have different states of comfort, different scenarios that are unique to us. I get there are people out there that are happy within their "comfort zone" and I understand that but for those who are not...have you ever stopped and asked yourself, what is my "comfort zone?" Highly driven and motivated people will find it hard to sit still, to take that time and really look around to appreciate where you are to where you have come from. This is the danger, at some point you will implode internally if you don't understand the necessity to sit back and relax, so understanding how to appreciate the "comfort zone" is needed.

Lately this topic has been a discussion amongst a variety of people that I know, it's interesting to see the viewpoints and the split between different people. I always refer back to the modern day "comfort zone" being sat in front of the TV eating food and watching a Netflix series, you could call this current climate the "Goggle Box" generation. Now don't get me wrong there are nights where there is nothing else i'd rather do & thats a normal way of thinking but again we refer back to the balance, is there not a skill or course that you could be doing to further enhance your future or are you going to simply settle for the same routine day in day out, waiting for the weekend to further dive into a Netflix series.

However "comfort zones" are not just in terms of technology and how we use it. Looking at your career, are their limits on your reach and potential within your work place? Have you been at the same job for a number of years stuck in the same position? Well then this is a prime example of being stuck in a "comfort zone" if your work place is not a challenging and rewarding environment then you are simply allowing yourself to be another part of the machine. You've allowed yourself to be settled in the career trap "comfort zone" You have to realise opportunity will not always come to you, sometimes if not most of the time you have to go after it. Take a dive into something you have never done, something that scares you but you know that with that fear you will see nothing but growth & a step out of your lovely, cosy "comfort zone" Even if this fails you still took a chance and as we know failure is just a lesson so that when we go again we know how to do it differently. I have recently started a new role as a marketing manager with no prior experience in managing people or a marketing degree, everything I know is self taught and has come with learning of others & in terms of managing people my number one rule is to treat people how you would want to be treated, I've worked for enough assholes over the years to know what the difference between a boss & a leader is. So what are you waiting for? After reading this take the time to re-evaluate, understand if you are stuck within a "comfort zone" you knew nothing about.

My top tip for this is not my thoughts however I feel that this quote sums up the need for getting out of your "comfort zone" to learn something new & hopefully give you opportunities you never thought were possible.

Tierneys Top Tips- "a jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one"

Cheers

T.