Ready to step out of your comfort zone?

“We are all living in an evolving world; everything is constantly on the move. As humans, we are drawn to being comfortable and happy.”

It was another Friday morning, and the company canteen was getting busy. People from various buildings on campus were filling in for the Friday special, spoiling ourselves with a full English breakfast with the choice of poached or fried eggs.

The queue was building up with colleagues dressed in the typical Friday casual attire of jeans and sneakers, complimented with an end of the week smile. Friday at last!

After getting my breakfast, I headed towards the usual spot, a big corner table where my close colleagues and I had been sitting for the last few years.

In the opposite corner of the hall was John, sitting on his own facing the wall, having his breakfast accompanied by the latest Financial Times article on his phone: I’d seen him do this, many times. We’d now gotten used to seeing him sitting on his own, or if not, with one or two people from the top management team.

Three years ago, John used to be one of us; sharing the same tasks, same break times, same breakfast table. Then suddenly, he started to be a different person; a different attitude, dressing differently and even talking differently.

John decided to change his job and follow his higher ambitions by taking a very challenging assignment in Nigeria. It was offered to many people at the time but was declined by everyone because of the sacrifice of the job; nobody was willing to leave their family here in the UK to live in offshore Nigeria and only come back every two months. But John seized the opportunity. Staying on the assignment for a year, John came back a different person. He was promoted to head office as soon as he came back to work. He not only came back with tanned skin but had become a different person with not only a different look, but also a different attitude.

Having been promoted to management level, John made sure he was not giving any preferential treatment to any of his friends, which was when he started to stay away from the crowd. Even though he seemed a little miserable sometimes on Friday mornings sitting away from his funny old friends, this was something he had signed up for when he decided to be different; he knew this was part of the package.

Cutting a long story short, he is now one of the top managers in the company I can see him being part of the corporate C-suite soon. He has grown immensely; he has reinvented himself.

Why being different needs courage?

John’s story emulates a story of progression that happens around us every day, not just in people’s careers but also in day-to-day personal lives.

We are all living in an evolving world; everything is constantly on the move. As humans, we are drawn to being comfortable and happy. That’s why we create comfort zones and stay in them. But when we stay in our comfort zone, we don’t necessarily remain unchanged, often regressing. However, stretching that circumference, we can achieve great things: the butterfly puts in some effort to escape the chrysalis.

Reinventing yourself requires courage. It takes effort and determination to come out of our comfort zones and get ourselves out there. Starting this journey on our own, a journey from A to B, won’t be as easy as remaining in a steady state, but will make us a different person, someone who has decided to be different.

When we get to our desired destination, it feels incredible, so much so that we never hear of people making efforts to go ‘backwards’ or ‘de-evolve.’

But to start such a journey, we need to know the A (our starting point), B (our end point) and what I call the big ‘Why’: why would and should someone put themselves through this phase of uncertainty? What I don’t like about A

Unlike going on holiday in the summer and other similar trips, a journey of reinvention does not end with coming back to a comfortable, warm home. There’s no going back to square one again.

In fact, it’s kind of the opposite: the growth comes from not returning to this comfort zone that, much like a home, has taken years of love and care to build. Instead, we leave A to get to B. There is no return ticket. At the very least we stay there, and if not, we eventually embark on another journey of change.

To plan the journey, the first step is establishing a clear definition of what we don’t like about A, what we want to change about A. We need to have a clear image of what we are moving away from and make sure we don’t define another, repackaged version of A as our planned B.

Define the “Why”

Every great move happens with a Why, which if not well defined, will mean jumping into a world of ambiguity and could be risky and counterproductive. When deciding to be different, whether it is how we behave or something in our career or changing our mindset, having a clear and transparent WHY is a must. The better we define the Why, the more motivation we will feel to leave the comfort zone and a greater sense of purpose and determination to fight our way towards B.

Define the B Having a clear idea about what we don’t like about where we are or who we are (A), and the big WHY is vital for the next stage: to accurately define B in its most realistic form. Of course, when we haven’t been somewhere yet, we can only use our current tools to build a good picture of B before starting the journey, but this is more than enough.

Is this the point we want to get to and never come back from? What is so good about B that urges us to leave our comfort zone in the first place? Whether we are looking at ourselves as individuals or at our business, there has to be a good reason to reinvent ourselves.

The same way we listed what we don’t like or don’t want about A, we have to write a list of things we want to gain when we finally stand up for ourselves and move towards being different. What is so intriguing about the new ME that it is worth risking the many pairs of potential rolling eyes and general pessimistic energy? More on this to follow...

The Journey

Now with a clear list of dislikes and likes about A and B respectively, and a well-defined WHY in mind, we are ready to move on from who we used to be to the new “Me” and in turn your new business.

It is important to note that change does not please everyone. Others around us won’t necessarily understand our process or like who we are becoming. Of course, for those who care about our mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, this is something good which will be and needs to be supported and encouraged. BUT there will be many more people who won’t like our journey towards the new ME, whose words and thoughts may make us doubt our journey.

It’s like testing an aeroplane. When deciding to be different, think of yourselves as a testing plane in the middle of a wind tunnel, where designers are testing rigidity and the integrity of the plane’s structure and systems – your structure and systems – against the worst possible conditions – like discouraging views of people around you….

If that pushes your panic button, get it together!...

This is how to evolve into a better you, a different you, and unlock more real potentials of what it means to be ME.

Summary: 1 - Being different from our current self and the people around us is a journey that needs good self-awareness, planning and visualisation.

2 - A list of all points “we are moving from” should be prepared most honestly.

3 - A list of all the things we want to move to, whether it’s a habit, set of actions, lifestyle, job opportunity, physical excellence, etc. should be prepared.

4 - The big WHY is the most crucial question that we should ask ourselves: Why do we need to reinvent ourselves?

5 - The journey towards being different is a difficult path that often includes some negative vibes and rolling eyes, but is worth every second if, A and B and Why are correctly defined.

6 - If we are lucky, there will be people around us to encourage us to go through the journey, but it’s more of a bonus rather than a requirement. The real requirement is the right mindset and determination.

7 - Last but not least, your best courage should come from yourself. Just try to visualise the new “ME”, the better version of the ME you have today, which will also have the experience of the journey, has been awarded the unique feeling of success and now might even be thinking about a new journey from B to C...

Remember there is no standing still. If you are not continually moving forward in thoughts and deeds in your business, you are actually going backwards – and that is not a place you want to be.

Better to let circumstances be created by you than to let them happen around you. No, we could not have had a plan for Covid, nobody could have foreseen the devastating effect it would have. But you do have the choice now, how to respond.

Will you write your A and B list, and in doing so discover your WHY? Then take ACTION and reinvent yourself AND your business to thrive.

You can contact Ali at:

Email: aipakchi@emveedo.com Telephone: 07926 603030 Website: linkedin.com/in/al-ipakchi