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Getting Comfortable with Getting Uncomfortable
Leaving the norm behind and stepping out of your comfort zone can be uncomfortable.
Since college, I have held a LOT of different jobs.
I have been an administrative assistant, tech support for two different companies doing four different types of support, benefits administration, sales, retail management, paralegal, marketing assistant, IT manager, and all-around guy-Friday. For more than 20 years, I worked for companies from less than five employees to massive international corporations.
For a long time, due to my inability to commit (not just to relationships), I bounced around a lot. I believed, then, that I was always looking for the greener grass on the other side.
But now, I am more convinced I was trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Because of my inability to commit, I lacked the ambition to truly pursue…well, anything. That’s why my 20s and 30s are littered with a variety of jobs, failed relationships, different homes, and all evidence of someone who couldn’t get comfortable.
Ironically, I believe I was comfortable in my discomfort. But now, having reconciled with who I believe I am — it’s going to be about getting comfortable with getting uncomfortable.
Accepting the uncomfortable
One of the reasons anyone chooses the career that they do is to create their comfort zone. Society will tell you that — for the most part — this looks like a 9–5 job, owning a home, getting married, accepting that you live to work until you get to retire.
Maybe for you, that works. I learned, long ago, that it doesn’t work for me. Which I should have realized in High School and College.
I started college with no degree program. But after my first semester, I chose a BA in Drama program. Like me, this was a huge generality. No focus on acting, tech support, house management, or any other aspect of theatre. Just a general degree in it.
I wound up spending most of my time in the radio station at my college. I LOVED being a DJ. I even got to spend a summer and winter break PAID to keep the college station running.
