Here’s How to Push Yourself Outside of Your Comfort Zone and Why It Matters

Three, two, one...and the floor drops out from under you, and you fall. Can you imagine that? Well that’s exactly what happened to me a few weeks ago on vacation, and I’m still thinking about it.

I often preach to engineering professionals that in order to grow in their careers and lives, they need to push themselves outside of their comfort zones. Maybe for you that means volunteering to speak in in public or leading client correspondence on a project? Doing what makes you uncomfortable is usually exactly what you need to do to grow as a person.

Now, back to my story…about how I took the leap....

We recently were on a family vacation in Florida, where my wife and I took our three kids to the water park Aquatica. The park is huge, and while we were having fun trying different rides together, there was one very tall water slide that kept catching my eye. Not only was it tall, but the actual slide tubes appeared to be almost completely vertical, like a free-fall water slide. Could it be?

We were sitting in the beach area, eating lunch, and I started to talk about the towering ride, and a man sitting close by overheard us. He started telling me how cool of a ride it is, however, he did mention it was very scary. Now, I am not a huge fan of big drops, and stay away from the bigger roller coasters, but for some reason, I felt motivated to try out this free-fall experience.

So, after lunch, I headed for this ride by myself, which is known as Breakaway Falls. I get to the ride and I get on the line, which consists of an eight story high staircase. While on line, they show you videos of how you “get into the water slide.” This is not your typical ‘sit down on the water slide and go’ attraction. For this ride, you step into a tube, there is water running behind your back and they close you in with a clear door. Then you start hearing a heartbeat, and the staff outside of the tube gives you a thumbs up, which you have to return. Once you do, you hear a countdown, three, two, one...after one, there is a pause (which seems like an eternity), and then the floor drops out from underneath you and you free fall into the water slide tube.

What a rush of adrenaline…

The interesting thing about this ride, is that even after waiting in line for one hour, I would say that about half of the people don’t actually go through with it. They get in the tube, and instead of giving the thumbs up, they ask the staff to let them out. Why? Fear.

Fear can cripple us in our lives, especially in our careers, but oftentimes, we need to push through it and take what scares us head on.

I was pretty scared, but something made me just do it. I didn’t think too much about it, I just got in, gave the thumbs up, and took the plunge. While it was scary, as soon as it was over, there was a great feeling of joy and accomplishment. What I also found interesting was that there were a few other pretty scary rides that I tackled after that, and I found myself telling my kids that if I can tackle Breakaway Falls, then I can tackle any other ride in the park. That’s confidence and it came from a scary experience.

Taking the scary route is sometimes the best way to build your confidence and grow.

How can you push yourself? Commit to doing something that terrifies you in the next 60 days. Volunteer to give a webinar or take an exam that you have been wanting to take. Commit to going through the process of obtaining a new credential that will be a differentiator in your career.

I challenge you to find your biggest career fear and take it on. It will feel scary in the moment, but the return on your actions will be worth it many times over.

To your success,

Anthony

P.S. If you are interested in People Skills or Project Management training for your staff, or looking for individual career coaching, please message me or contact me at 800-920-4007.