Get out of your comfort zone

Last weekend was a lot of firsts for me: I participated in my first Kick off with PS Partner and PS Interim in Trysil, I participated in my first event that was exclusively done in Swedish and I tried skiing for the first time. But about everything from the start.

PS Partner and PS Interim every year has Kick-off where the strategy for the upcoming year is set and plans are put in motion. This year we all from Gothenburg, Stockholm and Malmö gathered in Trysil in a cosy house in the mountains. This was my first time I had a chance to be a part of this and I cannot express enough how glad I am to be a part of planning process and learn about strategy from a different perspective. This was a great challenge and, boy, there is a lot in store this year.

The other part that was a development opportunity for me – participating in the heavy discussions only in Swedish for a few days. Even though last year I was fortunate to lead all JCI Sweden national board meetings in Swedish, it was not easy sometimes, but with a help of my dear friends within the organization (you know who you are!) I made big steps in building my Swedish professional vocabulary by using Robert rules of order. Even though of these steps, I still had times last year that I was so tired that I had to change to English instead to continue the conversation. Starting at working with my colleagues at PS Partner and PS Interim, I was definitely challenged to speak much more Swedish on a much higher level than before. And you know what? I now realized that I have already gone through the barrier of speaking Swedish the whole day. What a difference it makes to my participation in the discussion and my ability to follow the conversation non-stop.

And now about skiing. What a challenge! I have never done any winter sports except for being able to skate while holding the rails. I promise you, only the thought of a steep hill, speed and no mechanical breaks made me very nervous, but I am more stubborn and nervous, I guess. With the help of an extremely patient Anna Petersson, after a couple of hours I was able to keep my balance for most of the time (I fell only! 4 times through the day) and get down from a small hill going from one side to another one. Big deal you say? Well, it was for me. Mainly, because I dared to try a new thing and got so much out of it – a beautiful view from the mountain, new balance perspective and, most importantly, left my comfort zone once again.

I did not talk about my Swedish skills or skiing to just show off what I can or where I’ve been. No, this is one of many examples in my life how comfort zone works and how important it is to step out of it and challenge yourself. I know, everybody talked about it for a long time and the topic is getting old. But you know what? Actually, we have a saying in Lithuanian that repetition is the mother of learning. And indeed, the constant reminder of the growth and beauty that you find outside of your comfort is best way to motivate yourself to try new things. It can be a new skill, new way to work or even a new coffee brand, anything that makes you a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Apply that to your job search or your work every day – something new, something you have never tried before! There is no other way to growth and success than understanding your comfort zone and stepping out of it from time to time or constantly. And it does not matter how fast you are. It is all about taking step by step. Take your time, get to know yourself, learn what you are good at, see what development opportunities you have and just go for it. I did and I want YOU to try it too!

Do you want to discuss it further or maybe just talk generally how to move forward in your job search or growth in your career path? Just send me a message here on LinkedIn or send me an email to simona.bockute@pspartner.se.