Navigating the boundaries of your comfort zone often involves striking a delicate balance between pushing yourself to grow and recognizing the value of your current position. Your comfort zone is a behavioral state where you operate in anxiety neutral conditions. So, while we often encourage stepping out of this territory, it’s important to recognize that doing so too frequently can undervalue the skillset developed within familiar territory. As you assess whether to take on new challenges or to focus on strengthening core competencies, there are some key factors to help guide your decision.
When to Venture Out
One of the first steps to venturing out of your comfort zone is assessing whether it’s the right time to do so. This can be contingent on several factors including your level of preparedness, current headspace, and ability to take on the challenge that accompanies the unknown. When deciding whether now’s the right time to push your boundaries, consider the following questions:
Are you prepared for the challenge? Leaving a safe space is not an easy decision and thus it requires some groundwork and preparation to do it correctly. Ask yourself if you’ve adequately prepared for the challenge. Sometimes this means practicing stepping out of your comfort zone in less critical situations to build your readiness.
How much is the situation worth to you? Not every discomfort is worth pursuing because sometimes the effort isn’t worth the outcome, especially when it comes to your well-being. In these cases, be sure to evaluate whether leaving your comfort zone would yield successful results.
Is now the right time? Assess your current responsibilities. Do you have the bandwidth, time and energy to fully engage? When you step out of your comfort zone and find success, it’s because your efforts yielded positive results. To reinforce this behavior, it’s crucial to evaluate whether your actions outside of that zone were effective. If they weren’t, it can be detrimental. While you can learn from failures, not assessing the situation properly can be even more harmful and reflects poorly on your performance.
When to Stay
Leaving familiar territory can foster growth but knowing when to stay can be a marker of true discernment. Even if you’ve taken the steps to prepare and have identified a worthwhile opportunity, there are certain situations where sticking to the status quo is the wiser choice.
High stake projects. If you’re working on a project and you’re up against tight deadlines and significant consequences, sticking to what you know can ensure the result is reliable and minimize risk. Leaders assign you to a project because they trust you. This trust might extend to your ability to think outside the box, but it primarily stems from your past performance as the best indicator of future performance is your previous track record.
Exceptionally busy periods in your life. Staying in familiar territory is a cognitive behavior that protects your well-being and helps prevent burnout. It’s crucial to listen to the signals your body and brain are sending you in stressful or overwhelming situations. In these instances, sticking to what you know can be a vital aspect of maintaining your well-being.
Your comfort zone is essentially where your core skills lie. Focusing on and continuously practicing these essential skills is a positive and necessary thing. We need to keep training and refining the skills we know best. There’s a reason Michael Jordan practiced more free throws than anyone else in the NBA. He recognized it as a core skill, in familiar territory, that needed honing. He understood that mastering fundamental skills was crucial for winning games.
When you’re building confidence. If you’re new to a role, organization, or situation, sticking to what you know can help you build confidence and establish a solid foundation with your relationships. Team support is also crucial. Other team members might have complementary skills or might be venturing out alongside you. Supporting your team by being the anchor and providing expertise is always beneficial, as it might be reciprocated in the future. Being aware of who you’re working with and what they’re trying to achieve helps you be a supportive team player. This support allows others to step out of their comfort zones while protecting the overall work and solutions you’re developing.
Knowing when to take a risk and when to embrace the familiar can be a crucial aspect of personal and professional development. By carefully assessing the challenges, your preparedness, and the timing, you can make informed decisions that optimize your growth while not sacrificing your well-being. At the same time, recognizing the value of your core skills and understanding when to leverage them ensures that you remain effective and resilient. Ultimately, balancing the need for growth with the wisdom of experience will allow you to navigate any work experience with confidence and purpose.
Joshua Smith is Head of Americas Human Resources & Global Head of Talent at Sedgwick.