It is human nature to avoid danger or risk. I’m no anthropologist but I’m pretty sure the concept goes back to the days of the cave man. Stay safe, find food, run from big furry beast, ugh.
Fast forward several thousand years and here we are sky diving, kite surfing, mountain climbing, wing suiting, xtreme sporting and the list goes on. All in the pursuit of getting out of our comfort zone, finding that adrenaline rush, and/or pushing the envelope.
For the majority of us, getting out of our comfort zone may be simply riding a roller coaster or public speaking or changing our hair cut after 38 years. We all have different thresholds that we can consider to be in or outside of our comfort zone.
In our industry, getting out of our comfort zone is almost a daily requirement. The difficult call we have to make after the buyer’s REALTOR® calls us on the last day of conditions to let us know the financing has fallen through. We have an appointment with what can only be described as a barbarian who is the complete opposite of pleasant to deal with. We might have 5 offers going back and forth on a particular day that pushes our adrenaline and stress levels up a few notches. Or we are called in to make a presentation to a group of builders for a new development which involves some public speaking and a whole lot of questions.
A huge factor in the change our industry has gone through (like so many others) is technology. Getting too comfortable with the status quo is dangerous territory as we are constantly introduced to new computer programs, devices, apps, electronic signatures, websites, social media, SEO ranking, blogging, video tours, virtual tours, MLS database programs, webinars and the list goes on. To resist this change and stay in our comfort zone would be borderline sabotage to our business.
Jim Broderick, Founding Partner of THEbTEAM (a newly minted title) has always enjoyed getting out of his comfort zone. Just recently he actually enquired about getting involved in acting in a local production. Jim. Acting. On a stage. All that equals awesome. Even our TERRIBLE/EXCELLENT Series (click bTV on our home page for more on that!) was pushing Jim out of his comfort zone.
If you are like me, the photo accompanying this blog gives you sweaty palms and a mildly elevated heart rate. And this is coming from a guy that went skydiving! I also procrastinated learning to roller blade because I felt I would look like a complete goofball flailing my arms as I walk-rolled down my street. Well…I have been roller-blading for several months now and I am humiliation free to this point!
So, here is the question for you…
What comfort zone are you currently in that you would like to get out of? Is it public speaking? Getting in better shape? Roller-blading? Learning another language? Taking on more responsibility at work? White water rafting? Taking singing lessons?
The best part about pushing out of that comfort zone is coming out the other side and realizing that everything went ok. No one laughed at you, you weren’t hurt (hopefully!) and you accomplished it.
Long story short…we hope this gets you thinking about what you’d like to do that pushes you a bit. And it doesn’t have to be jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at 10,000 ft. up. If it is though, send us pics!
Thank-you for visiting.
THEbTEAM
Appreciation to Sean Benesh for the photo.