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Leaving your comfort zone

Apr 28, 2016 | Blog

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It can be all too easy to become extremely comfortable in your job and while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be that which stunts your ability to flourish in your career. 

Often, when we start at a new company, there is a period of being out of our comfort zone while we settle in and get our bearings. Therefore, when we have finally become comfortable with the new work environment and the new job, it can be tempting to stay in this comfortable space. So why leave it? Surely being comfortable in your job is a good thing? Here’s why pushing yourself out of that comfort zone can be the best thing you ever did for your career.

Confidence

Often, it is the fear of failing that makes us stay with what we know. Pushing yourself shows what you are really made of and instills the confidence you may need to keep on pushing yourself. We frequently hear from candidates we’ve recently placed that they wish they’d made the move to the new job sooner and too often it was their lack of confidence or their desire to stay in their comfort zone that held them back. 

Self discovery 

Might sound a bit ‘new age’ but this is actually an extremely important part of developing yourself both professionally and personally. You don’t discover very much that you didn’t already know when you stick to the same work, the same routines and the same daily graft. It is only when you put yourself in a new situation that you find out what you are really capable of. This self-discovery can be a fantastic driver of often much-needed change in your professional life. 

Finding out what matters to you

When you push yourself into new territory, you will force yourself to reevaluate what it is really important to you. One of the major issues with staying in your comfort zone for too long is that at some point, it is going to get boring and demotivating. It is a far better strategy to stay ahead of things and not let things get to that point. By breaking out of your comfort zone you soon find out what makes you tick and what you really want to be doing with your career.

Boosting productivity and enjoying work

A comfort zone is not a productive place to be in. When you are so used to doing the same things day in and day out, knowing that very little changes, you tend to rest on your laurels and do the same amount of work every day. This can have a serious effect on your productivity and in turn, your mindset. Being highly productive feels great. It has a hugely positive effect on our mood which is crucial to enjoying our work. 

A comfort zone is at times a nice place to be in, and can even be necessary at certain stages of our lives. It is those extended periods of time within them that can make for a demotivating and unchallenging professional life. Seizing the opportunity to do something new can bring renewed passion into our work life and inspire change and development.

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