Saturday, November 28, 2009

Welcome!

My intention with this blog is to share thoughts, feeling and insight about the place where leading, coaching and living intersect.

Comfort Zones : how can we be comfortable outside our comfort zone? Is that an oxymoron? I don't think so.

If I am anxious about what is coming at me when I'm outside my comfort zone, I am indeed uncomfortable. If I am curious about what is coming at me when I am outside my comfort zone, I'm not uncomfortable in a negative way. I feel uncomfortable in a positive way and that is less threatening.

Work with me on this one.....

I spent the day working on my ski technique with a coach. He asked me to do things on my skis that felt odd and uncomfortable and I willingly put myself into a wobbly stance because I was curious about how my technique could improve as a result of his input. I felt confident that, whatever he was asking me to do, his focus was on improving my skills and helping me become a better skier -- one that is able to handle the bumps and lumps of ski trails. Knowing he wanted me to succeed, I felt we shared a commitment to my learning and transformation as a skier. I experimented with new techniques, saw the improvement, adopted the new moves and got faster. I have more work to do and I know it's up to me to keep up the practice.

In our lives, we have many instances where our comfort zone as evaporated (instantly?) and we stand in a place of learning. That's one way to frame it. Another way to frame it is to say we stand in a place of openness to new input. Whatever comes in, we react. How will we react? What is our pre-disposition -- positive or negative? Whatever it is, we will see what we expect.