Going outside of one’s comfort zone is never easy, especially for an introvert. Sticking to what we know is comfortable and easy. But is that best for us? Is it best for those around us?
When we lived in Texas, we drove by a church in our neighborhood with an intriguing sign out front. We thought, “Oh, we should check that out!” But we drove on by. We made excuses. We put off visiting. A year later, we moved to Missouri without ever walking in the door of that church to see what was behind the sign. Later on, we heard from some friends that they were driving from over an hour away to help the pastor of that particular church make some exciting changes. The church in our old neighborhood. The church that we failed to check out. Surely, had we gone outside our comfort zone and stepped in the door, we could have been in on the ground level of an exciting and potentially life-changing movement. Talk about an “Aha!” moment.
“It’s a dangerous business, going out of your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off too.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
I’d like to say we learned our lesson. In a way, we did; we remind ourselves often to go outside our comfort zone. Of course, small things are so easy compared to big things. Going out and meeting new people is easy compared to moving across the country, or, gasp, starting a new business.
We look back on the moment we drove by that church without stopping as one of our most significant failures. We promised ourselves that we would always remember that “Aha!” moment—that sudden realization that we should always go outside our comfort zone when given the opportunity. And that’s how we ended up here in sunny Florida, sitting in our very own Ascribe office, working to help our clients do more and be more.
What are some ways you’ve gone outside your comfort zone? We know it's hard, let us give you the boost you need to break out.
