Painful as they were, these rehearsals were valuable every single time. While practicing, I would stumble over my words or come across as hesitant. It takes intention and preparation to deliver a difficult message and have it land effectively. These practice sessions ensured that I had positive outcomes, but man, they were painful.
Fast forward to my coaching career. I have had a lot of “firsts.”
The first paid coaching session.
The first group coaching gig.
The first skeptical client.
The first paid speaking engagement.
Not one of these experiences was fun, but I learned so much each time.
While preparing for each of these experiences, I would get knots in my stomach and think of every potential negative outcome. In fact, while rehearsing for the first speaking engagement, I convinced myself that the audience would decide that my talk was bad and tell everyone in the world not to hire me to speak. For those familiar with Positive Intelligence, that was my hyper-vigilant saboteur in action.
Then, in a course that I took last year, our teacher, David Peterson, perfectly articulated why I had felt so nervous. There is no learning in the comfort zone and no comfort in the learning zone.
Real learning, the important stuff, causes us to change. And change makes us uneasy. However, this realization helps me embrace the discomfort, knowing that I will become better for it. Weirdly, it helps me to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
How do you let your need for comfort get in the way of your learning?