I don’t make the rules 🤷🏻♀️
The only way to get stronger, fitter, faster, or more skilled at anything is to put yourself in situations where you are outside your comfort zone.
The comfort zone
Many years ago, I took up dancing (Ceroc, for those playing along at home). I stayed in the beginners’ class long after those who started at the same time as me had progressed to intermediate and advanced classes.
Why did I stay? I was mentally stuck. I knew that moving to intermediate would be a big step up. Plus, I would be back to not knowing most of the dance moves.
I was perfectly comfortable in my comfort zone, thank you very much! But, staying in beginners stopped being so much fun, because it was always the same old, same old.
Eventually, a friend kindly “bullied” me into getting assessed for the intermediate class. And then subsequently made sure I attended LOTS of classes. Yes, it sucked because I really didn’t know most of the moves. But every week, I learned more.
Then, the same friend softly coaxed me into dancing with the teachers. I was waaaaay out of my depth… In fact, I was so far out of my comfort zone that I was teetering on the edge of my panic zone. Thankfully, the guys I was dancing with made sure I didn’t fall over the edge.
How I levelled up
Turns out that dancing with people so much better than me was the quickest way to level up my dancing.
Just like the fastest way to learn a language is to start speaking it before you know all the words you need (charades is an international language!).
Or like the best way to get back into running is to start running, no matter how slowly you go or how hard it feels. This pic is of me on the weekend, having finished my longest – and therefore hardest – run in almost four years.
Running always reminds me that the only way to get better at something is to put myself in a position where I’m not quite comfortable. Not in pain, because that’s the quickest way to ruin everything. But a little uncomfortable, a little bit nervous… because that’s where the growth happens.
What will you do this week to get out of your comfort zone, and into your stretch/learning zone?
