Get Out of Your Comfort Zone!

I know some of you have done amazing things like parachute jumping for charity (or as part of your job)! Some of you have dealt with the perils of Snowdonia, hiking to Mount Everest Base Camp, cage diving with large sharks or even Wing Walking!

Call me 'Chicken' but you're unlikely to meet me on one of those trips!

What are you like with heights? I'm pretty rubbish.

Having volunteered with youth trips in my younger days, and being Dad to two adventurous daughters, I have been obliged to go out of my comfort zone on occasion (Alton Towers and all that!) but it was something I had endured rather than enjoyed. Anyone with me on that one?

So it was with some surprise that I offered to paint the frames of sash windows, gables and surrounds of a large Victorian house. On the fourth and fifth floors.

My friend, the owner, had been looking for a commercial painting firm to complete this job as they had done the lower floors. But he had no takers. And the clock was ticking until the scaffolding would be taken down.

So, that is how I found myself climbing out of the fourth-floor window onto the scaffolding, with my paint and brush in hand.

That floor was fine to do what I had to do and I'd set some of my own rules: 'don't look down', 'three-point contact, at all times', 'don't tread on the slates above the bay windows'.

If you look at the pic below (the actual job) you'll see what I mean. The fourth-floor boards are the ones above the 'Atlas' sign.

So far, so good.

But getting up to - and working on - what I called the 'crow's nest' was a different matter. That is the small set of planks up at the 'pointy' roof bit (to get technical!)

My first concern was climbing those ladders, which when you were towards the top seemed to put you up into the middle of nowhere. Reassuringly, the scaffolders had used clamps to fix them to the scaffolding rather than rope, like in the olden days. I took comfort in ensuring I had three-point contact at all times; resisting the temptation to try scrambling up or down. Scrambling has been the undoing of some of my friends.

But I had two other challenges.

You can probably see on the picture that when you go high enough on a ladder, you obviously need to get yourself across to the planks/platform.

And then you need to stand up and get the job done!

This is when I really needed to grip well - and not look down!

When you are at any sort of height that is open to the air, many of us know that feeling of being drawn to look over the edge, and then it can feel that you're being drawn over the edge!

No this is not a brain dysfunction! I've checked these feelings with a close friend (Alvaro Bravo Cole, my Co-Founder). He is a risk taker (motorcycle rider who has worked as a firefighter and a lumberjack) who has confirmed that the brain's perceptions do seem to alter at height.

So there I was, having made it onto the 'crow's nest'. I'll admit I did shuffle my rear onto the platform before standing up rather than standing up and across from the ladder, because there was a gap of about four feet with no scaffolding or anything to grip onto.

At this point, I should mention that the building itself is on top of a hill, not far from cliffs that tumble into the English channel. So you get an exaggerated feeling of height (and drop!)

It didn't help that the wind at the top was strong and buffeting and rain showers kept rolling in. Not great conditions. I had nothing much to hold onto at that top level, but plenty of rubbing down and painting to do.

And then it started.

My left leg started to shake. Everything else was fine: I had a solid grip on part of an open window, I was doing the work, the rest of my body was fine and my mind was fine (but risk-aware).

But my damn left leg! It was getting a life of its own. Like some silly Elvis impersonation!

I was getting cold but the wind kept coming. I was soaked but the rain kept sweeping in.

Over a few hours, and over two days the job was done. Finally.

With some relief, I cleared any debris from all of the scaffolding, gazed once more upon the completed paintwork, and left for home.

I felt elated!! I felt really pleased that I'd managed to complete a good job (based on feedback from those who lived there), was injury-free, and had helped my friend out of a tricky situation.

I took the country route home that day. That took some 4 hours and took me through many towns. And yes, I was looking up at all sorts of buildings thinking "That one's not so high really, is it?" "I reckon I can do that one, now" "I'd like to try that one!" "No...I'm definitely NOT ready for that one!!"

So what did I learn from going out of my Comfort Zone?

1) The power of making an offer. I offered to do something I'd never done before. Since I offered, I felt little pressure. I only told my friend after the job was complete that I had never actually been up scaffolding before. He wasn't too impressed at that moment!

For me this really fed my desire for self-determination: I don't thrive on being told what to do. Who does? The sense of freedom I experienced from offering was a big factor in completing a new task or an old task (painting) under new, untried conditions. Critically, I have given myself a boot in the rear end to get my finger out on other areas of my work and life that need sorting.

What could this mean for you in your work or life? What might you offer to do to give yourself a boot in the right place?

2) Invent your own rules. I know three-point contact (always have 3/4 limbs in contact with the surface you are scaling at all times) is 'Rock Climbing 101'. But some people get careless and move too quickly, effectively reducing their contact to 2/4 limbs. Here lies trouble. I decided that 3-point contact would be one of my rules.

But on other parts of the task, I ignored some rules and tailored others, to make the process work for me, given my limitations. For example, how I navigated climbing the ladders, dealing with the 'stairwells' and how to find something to hold onto when the 'official' grip points are too far away.

3) Get out of your Comfort Zone to Reboot your settings. I've had some great, challenging conversations recently which bring home to me the need to keep placing myself in new uncomfortable territory. Learning from the past is as crucial as ever, but step-change growth lies in step-change action. My friend Diane Lurie uses a phrase I really like to bring home this point of experience calling it 'the mysterious, almost magical, that you might not have been in touch with'.

So, how is your head for heights this summer?

References

Self-Determination: Deci E L & Ryan R M (2008) Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life's domains, Canadian Psychology, 49, 14-23

(99+) Alvaro Bravo Cole | LinkedIn

(99+) Diane Lurie | LinkedIn