be comfortable out of your comfort zone

The majority of the industries I speak to have a common issue: Change. New systems, processes or technologies are constantly being rolled out. I seems like they are coming so fast that individuals aren't feeling confident in their ability to implement them effectively. In this digital age, things move fast. Many people become set in their ways (or would like to). It takes a specific mindset to excel these days. We have to become comfortable out of our comfort zone. Our comfort, in any situation, depends greatly on our feeling of competency. Multigenerational workforces tend to suffer the most in change, as the tech savvy millennials saturate the workforce and older team members are feeling the pressure to keep up.

To navigate the changes that seem to be coming faster and faster, we must release the attachment to the, ”This is how it's done,” mindset. We must become comfortable out of our comfort zone. By remaining open to possibilities, we create the opportunities to find a better way. The hard part is overcoming our fear of change. The fear of change is always based in our fear of incompetence. This is an understandable fear in that whenever we learn something new we aren't competent in its implementation. Competence is earned over time through our results. We trust our abilities more as we see the outcomes we were looking for.

When confronted with new systems, processes, or technologies, most people feel overwhelmed with the scope of the change. Its seems huge, insurmountable. It's the focus on the overall picture that instigates the fear. Fear is an emotional reaction to some future event that may or may not happen. Fear is uncertainty. What we are uncertain about is our ability to implement the change.
Successful outcomes are created one successful moment at a time. It's the present moment actions that keep you moving forward. When changes are rolled out, they are “sold” by touting the final outcome. Focusing on the horizon can make you trip on the obstacle in front of you. As Martin Luther King Jr said,” Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.” Your confident present moment actions are simple drivers of your results over time. Instead of focusing on the staircase, focus on ascending each step successfully. Those who do, adapt more quickly, and are not thwarted when the next change happens. Successful outcomes are the culmination of successful present moments.
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Realize as well, that everyone, including yourself, is fallible. That is a fact that no one can change. You will not always do things correctly. Since this is a fact, why beat yourself up? When we do, we are falling into the fear that hinders our progress. Beating yourself up is just silly and a real waste of time, but we tend to do it. Look at mistakes during a learning curve as just silly and take action to fix the issue. Overtime the silly mistakes will become less and less and we will become competent in the changes. We become comfortable out of our comfort zone.

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