Stretching Out of My Comfort Zone

“You have to do what you feel comfortable with.”

This is what I have said hundreds of times when teaching others about sharing their story online. I tell my audience to talk about the lessons learned, not the nitty-gritty details they prefer not to share.

Yet, the other day I realized I had done exactly the opposite. I stepped out of my comfort zone during an interview with a health reporter. I dove deep into the details about things I tend to gloss over, and I shared my nitty-gritty.

Yep, I decided to break my own rules of advocacy and personal branding. (Hey, that’s a marketer for ya—do as I say, not as I do.)

For a long time, I kept parts of my story to myself because they weren’t important to the “lessons” I share; they felt like embarrassing details that no one needed to know. But for this particular article, those details were exactly what the reporter needed in order to understand my story.

So I shared the nitty-gritty. I talked about the things I had been so ashamed of.

Why, you ask, did I go against everything I preach?

Well, first of all, I was being interviewed, so the people-pleaser in me felt even more uncomfortable saying “pass.” (Ok, kidding, but not really.)

Truthfully, the advocate in me knew it was the right thing to do. I felt like if the reporter was asking these questions, they were important to the article. The article will be a critical resource for people managing chronic conditions, like mental illness, in the workplace.

As much as the answers to these questions were out of my comfort zone, I felt like I would be more uncomfortable not sharing my full truth with people who could relate. And as cringey as it was sharing some of these details, I felt that it would’ve been more cringey seeing a watered-down version of my story, knowing I could’ve said more to be helpful.

So, sometimes, you need to weigh the discomfort and decide what’s important to you. For me, I felt deep in my bones that sharing was the right thing.

For you, ask yourself: is sharing the details just too painful right now? If so, that’s OK. No one is forcing you to share your nitty-gritty with the world. Plus, maintaining your own peace is far more important than sharing your story with strangers on the internet.

If you think the details might be an important part of your mission, then maybe it’s OK to do what you don’t feel totally comfortable with. I say 'maybe' because truly only you can answer this question.

But, just know, if you’ve grappled with this conundrum before, I hear you. Sharing your story, no matter how in-depth or brief, is a very vulnerable thing and you don’t have to have a hard and fast rule about it.