Out of My Comfort Zone

"You may need to step outside of your comfort zone"  This is something that I have heard many times throughout my life and I grew to despise this saying.  Why would I want to step outside my comfort zone?  I was always somewhat ok with the person that I was.  I'm the quiet girl, who may have known the answers in class, but never volunteered them.  The girl who was told on every single report card from Kindergarten to Grade 12 that I needed to speak up more.  But why?  Being the quiet one never hurt me.  I was comfortable and the thought of stepping beyond that seemed ridiculous and unnecessary.

But recently I have heard this sentence two more times that kind of hit me harder than it did before.  The first was from my boss.  It wasn't negative at all, simply constructive feedback.  I recently received a promotion and am now a supervisor.  What I have realized so far is that supervisors may have very similar personalities to me, but they try to expand beyond that and push themselves to be better with people.  It doesn't work to be a supervisor and sit quietly in your cubicle, never talking to anybody.  

The other time was at an accounting event, being told along with 200 other accountants that we need to step outside of our comfort zone and network with complete strangers.  We need to connect with others in order to further ourselves in our careers.  We need to talk about ourselves and believe in ourselves so that others believe in us too.  

And so for the first time in my life, this matters.  When I was in grade school and university, it really didn't make a difference.  Sure the teachers told me that I should speak up more, but at the end of the day, my marks were based on my actual school work, which "toot toot" was always well done.  But now, my career depends on this.  It's not about grades anymore and just being able to prove that because I can do a task given to me that I can succeed.  To be successful I have to push myself into becoming a people person.  Otherwise I'm not a supervisor, I'm just exactly what I was before.

I don't expect myself to change.  I've been this way for 27 years.  And I don't want to change.  But it's more about growing and "stepping outside of that comfort zone" and becoming a stronger me who can break through the barriers that I have set for myself.