I’ve been thinking a lot about comfort zones… again. Having recently started a new role, I’ve been experiencing the internal struggles that come with being nudged out of my comfort zone. I’m also reflecting that I’ve been here before, many times over, and when feeling this way I used to always re-read a blog post I wrote in 2015 while at Humaan, where I first mused out loud about themes of comfort zones, growth and learning. That blog post is no longer online so I’m resurrecting it to help now-me find some solace, and for future-me to do so as well. Read the original post below.
Does Change == Holiday?
This is a post about my first year at Humaan, the up and downs, some of the challenges and the things I’ve learnt along the way. It’s a personal post of sorts, I wanted to share a different perspective of working in this great industry and perhaps touch on subjects I believe we don’t talk about enough.
I’m not sure if you know John Safran, but he’s an Australian radio personality/indie documentary maker. His big break came through a television series on the ABC in 1997 called Race Around the World. Contestants had to audition via video with a requirement being the audition must include a lead in of ten seconds of black. John Safran submitted his audition with ten seconds of yellow with the statement “Sorry, the shop was all out of black”. A textbook example of the old… “Use a different colour paper stock so your resume sticks out from the pile”.
A little over a year ago I applied for a position at Humaan and I figured I’d John Safran the application. Why not eh? What did I have to lose? Nothing. Just between you and me, I didn’t care much for my chances so the application process was actually quite liberating. There was no over-thinking, no struggling to talk about myself… just a bunch of honest words and pictures. If anything it was a heap of fun to put together. (Spoiler alert, I got the job.)
Takeaway #1 – Spend the time applying for a job you’d love to have but are pretty sure you’re not going to get, or are perhaps under qualified for. Not only can you finally put faces to those names of people you follow on Twitter, but you get constructive feedback about where you’re at professionally and it could be the most enjoyable application you’ll ever do.
I wasn’t quite sure that printing my resume on Reflex Green was going to achieve the effect on the Humaans that I was aiming for, so this is what I settled on…
As I said, nothing to lose. The building I’m standing in front of is the old Humaan office. I posed the question in my application, pretty much just thinking aloud… is change as good as a holiday? A year on, I thought I’d let you know.
Comfort zone?
Your typical comfort zone is a cosy, peaceful place. A place where I found myself bravely saying things like “Change is as good as a holiday” and “I want to make mistakes and learn from them”. Look at my zinc covered face. Comfy.
I can confirm that once you pass the event horizon of your comfort zone, things can become rather uncomfortable! Sure I wrote those words in my application but I’m not sure I was ever in a position to anticipate the reality of them!
I’d just had a baby, was applying off the back of a stint in the public service and I found the transition really jarring. I’m told I was cheery in those early days… sleep deprivation and mostly anxiety is all I remember.
First day jitters didn’t fade away. They got worse.
This period of change was feeling like no holiday I’d ever been on. I was completely eating my words at this point. This holiday SUCKS. Change can bugger off too.
I was loving the work. I was learning plenty. The people were great… but I wasn’t having fun and the seeds of something not-quite-right we’re sprouting. I was lost in a thick fog of self doubt. Reading Conor’s post during this period offered a bunch of solace. To avoid repeating Conor far less eloquently I urge you to read his article too. The gist of it? Sometimes starting your dream job can be bit of a nightmare.
Hey, I’m not alone in this.
Okayyyy… but I ask you, what is it about our industry that makes feelings of self-doubt and the imposter syndrome so prevalent?
12 months in.
A year on and the fog is clearing. I’m still loving the work. I’m still learning plenty. The people I work with are still great… and I’m slowly learning to be less hard on myself, relax and enjoy my time in the office. I’m seeing a shift in where my energy is being used. Far less is spent grinding gears just trying to make it through the day, with more directed towards, well… work, but more so in a critical capacity rather than in a slightly (severely) panicked reactionary mindset. I anticipated the period of change experienced transitioning into Humaan to be finite. It wasn’t. The change as they say, didn’t happen overnight.
I look back to that sleep deprived me and see professional progression and personal growth.
Takeaway #2 – Measuring your professional (or emotional) progress against your peers is not nearly as valuable as measuring your progress against your former self.
So back to answering the question. Is change as good as a holiday?
The internet suggests that the phrase has been appropriated from Winston Churchill where he said “a change is as good as a rest”. Hmmm, I’m not so sure Winston. Holidays and change, I feel, are really very different. We need them both but they aren’t like for like.
With change, it’s not necessarily all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. With holidays ideally it is,right? Think back to your last holiday. How long was it after getting home that you found yourself saying “it feels like I never left!” Not long right? Holidays can be be filled with amazing experiences but they are generally (and sadly) fleeting and they are rarely transformative. Then again, maybe I’m going on the wrong holidays 😉
Change != Holiday.
Change in contrast, is disruptive. Change is a sprawling, organic and messy process. Change is ongoing. Change challenges your status quo. Change pushes you further.
Takeaway #3 – Change is good. Change is healthy. Your initial instinct may be to to resist. Don’t do it! Push past this. Acknowledge and embrace the change with an open mind and enjoy the opportunity to learn and grow.
P.S. I still get nervous coming to work each day. Do you? It’s a good reminder that there’s more change to come.