#learning

Comfort Zones, Learning Zones

Comfort Zones, Learning Zones

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about comfort zones.

The pandemic forced most of us to stay in our comfort zones a good part of the time. We weren’t visiting new places, meeting new people, or taking on new challenges to the same degree as before. But as I talk with clients and friends and loved ones, I keep hearing things like, “I don’t think I want to leave my Covid bubble. I’m going to stay in my comfort zone.” As we feel our way into living with a new endemic disease, some people are finding themselves reluctant to break out of their comfort zones at all. I get that, but I worry that this path could be dangerous for our long-term well-being.

What have you learned this year?

Image by Jean P Mouffe from Pixabay

Image by Jean P Mouffe from Pixabay

What have I learned this year? That’s a question I’ve been asking myself each December since I began coaching.

To answer that question, I spend some time reflecting. A lot of my reflection is sort of stream-of-consciousness thinking as I go about my day, but each year, I do a little journaling around specific questions. My list of questions evolves a little each year. Here are the questions I’m asking myself this year:

  • What were the best things in my life this year?

  • When did I have the most fun?

  • What accomplishment from this year am I most proud of?

  • What task(s) did I take on this year that I wish I had not taken on? Why do I regret it?

  • Who were the people who energized me and fed my soul this year?

  • Who were the people who drained me?

  • What were the things I wanted to do this year and didn’t? Why didn’t I do them?

Sometimes I work on these questions over several days because as they percolate in my head and my heart, new things occur to me. After some time thinking about all these questions, I begin trying to draw out the lessons from the year.

As I write this post, I’m still in the middle of reflecting, but I’ll share a few of the lessons that are bubbling up for me.

  • Just because I can do something capably doesn’t mean that I should do it. Some tasks drain me instead of replenishing me. I want to give back to a world that has given me a lot, but I need to give back in the ways that are nourishing for me, not in the ways that drain me.

  • I am not my work. Most of the best parts of my year had nothing to do with my work.

  • Nonetheless, my work does feed my soul. Many of the most energizing people in my life this year were clients.

  • I’m a slow learner when it comes to not overcommitting myself, but I am learning.

  • Spending more time petting the cat is good for both of us.

How about you? What have you learned this year? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section. And in the meantime, I’m going to shut down the computer and pet the cat. Happy holidays!