Growth Happens When We Take Risks
“Get comfortable with the uncomfortable” was the motto of my college career. If you’re a Bonner program alum, you know what I’m talking about. We said it over and over again about every single thing that pushed us out of our comfort zones. I come back to that phrase very often. On a scale of interest in risk-taking, I score pretty darn high. Thanks to my parents (shoutout to Jim and Deb), I grew up knowing and believing that I could do anything that I set my mind to. There was a sense of fearlessness instilled in me (except for eating jolly ranchers and/or mozzarella sticks that I could potentially choke on, thanks for looking out, mama).
I’m grateful that I was raised with this type of risk orientation. It is the quality in me that convinced me I should pack up my life and move to a bunch of different places I had never been before and pretty much knew nobody. Considering I’m not married and don’t have kids, it was fairly simple to get up and move halfway across the country, but it still took a willingness to risk.
On so many occasions in my life, I had to step outside of what was comfortable in order to grow. I’ve put myself in professional positions that were big growth opportunities, doing all kinds of work that I had never done before. Those moments forced me to develop skills that I would not have otherwise.
I’ve had to be willing to say - I don’t know how to do that thing yet, but I’m going to figure it out. We are often scared to be beginners. There have been many times in my life when I have put on a front like I was an expert at everything (turns out I’m not). I’m pretty much done with that. It’s exciting to start over again, to take on a new challenge, and to stumble and fall a few times. The biggest blessings for me have come out of moments I have been willing to step off of the edge of the cliff and give something a chance. It hasn’t always been pretty, but as I look back on the last few years of my life, those are the moments that stand out as life-changing.
I love this quote from John Shedd: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” We aren’t built to stay in our homes, inside of our comfort zones, with the same people and jobs our entire lives. We are designed to shift, evolve, grow, develop, learn, risk, fail, fall down, get back up, and keep trying. This is life. Change in ourselves only comes from being willing to change something.
What risks are you taking in your life right now? It doesn’t need to mean packing up your whole life and moving across the country, or selling everything you own, or starting a new business or side hustle. These can be small, everyday risks. It can mean walking up to talk to someone you’ve never met before, taking on a project that scares you or even telling the truth to yourself about some piece of your life. How are you putting yourself in a space where you can grow right now? What are the ways you can take on the risk-taking orientation in your life?
Enjoy getting comfortable with the uncomfortable :)
