Everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is a failure.”–Albert Einstein

Let’s not minimize the impact of the magic that happens INSIDE our comfort zone!

My experience in the creative community in Hollywood forged a lasting impact on many areas of my life.  But the long tail of that adventure delivered yet another lesson nearly twenty years after leaving the West Coast.  A recent conversation with an old buddy from my California days leveled a dramatic twist on the old platitude of stretching outside our comfort zone.

Like most of us, my buddy was struggling with maximizing his talents and finding his place in the real world.  He had a natural knack for telling stories but never thought of his talent as a profession.  For years he labored as a math-challenged accountant in New York.  He worked at it.  He grinded.  And he made the most of his limited aptitude.  After ten years, he had achieved heroic mediocrity.

But he was running in place and drowning on the inside.  After some soul-searching, he made the bold move to head out West and take a shot at life inside the Hollywood Dream Factory.   More struggle and heartache followed.  But after a few years, he had written two successful screenplays and gained the respect of the entire community.

I caught up with him recently while researching the benefits of risking everything and operating outside our comfort zone.  His remarks stopped me in my tracks.

“Dude, you got this whole comfort zone thing backwards.”

(Editor’s note: Everything is “dude” with this guy.  A combination of an adopted “California cool” persona and possibly drinking too much peyote.)

“I was actually operating outside my comfort zone in New York.  Dude, I knew jack [expletive deleted] about accounting and believed I just wasn’t smart enough to make it.”

But you risked everything and moved out West to go after your dream. 

“It’s not a risk to bet on what comes easily and naturally.  Everybody’s good at something.  I’m focusing on that.  Dude, I’m embracing my comfort zone!”

And maybe we can all benefit from that unconventional pearl of wisdom in our work and personal lives.

We Can’t Take Our Skills for Granted

In our work lives, we all have some talent or skill that sets us apart.  Perhaps we are particularly adept at forming an argument.  Or leading a pitch.  Or making cold calls.  Or building consensus.  Or making a genuine connection.  Or crunching the numbers.  Or keeping everyone even-keeled under pressure.   Our talent doesn’t have to be life-changing or grandiose.  We don’t need to make dramatic changes in our careers to experience more fulfillment and success.  We just need to step back and recognize we have a unique talent.  And then we need to spend as much time as possible leveraging that skill.

Obviously, we want to be well-rounded.  Obviously, we want to develop other skills.  In order to grow, we need to take some risk and work on our weaknesses.  But let’s not sell ourselves short.  We have innate strengths.  Our talent may not seem like much to us.  It is easy to take it for granted because it comes naturally.  But the more we can appreciate and embrace that small talent, the more successful we can be.  The more confidence we gain.  And, more importantly, the better chance we have at helping others succeed!

Our Small Talents Set Us Apart

The same is true in our personal lives.  Perhaps we have the organizational skills to plan the household tasks but lack the financial acumen to run the family budget.  Perhaps we can bring different friend groups together but have trouble expressing our emotions.  Perhaps we lighten the mood in our family dynamic but don’t stay in touch as much as we should.

We all need to work on our shortcomings.  We all have room to grow. But let’s not forget that we bring something unique to the table in every relationship.  In every friend group.  In every family dynamic.  These skills are important and not trivial.  These skills can help make our corner of the world just a little bit better.  We need to appreciate and embrace those skills.

Everyone is Good at Something

In times of struggle, we will need those skills.  When the world seems tilted against us, we will need a place to draw strength. We will need a place to tap the confidence to forward.  In order to stay resilient after adversity strikes, we will need to leverage the power of our comfort zone.  That is our security blanket.  That is our unique contribution to the world.  And we need to celebrate that skill!

Self-improvement, by definition, requires us to leave our comfort zone and focus on areas where we are weak.  There is no doubting the power of progression and development.  But sometimes, we have to rely on what got us there. Sometimes, we need to put ourselves in a position where we can flourish on our natural talent. Sometimes, a fish is better off swimming in the water than climbing a tree.

Everybody is good at something. (Dude), sometimes we just need to embrace our comfort zone!