Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Wow, it can be rather hard as an educator to get out of your comfort zone.  You don't want to fail and let everyone see it.  It is so much easier to keep doing the things you do because you know you can do them correctly.  You are comfortable with doing it the way you have always done it.

Well, I have had the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone twice in about a years time.  Both times, it was my boss, Todd Nesloney, pushing me.  About two weeks ago, he asked me if I would moderate the Kids Deserve It Twitter Chat.  I had a million thought go through my head.  Here are some of them.

1. Who, me!  
2. He has to be just joking.
3. What would be my questions?
4. I am just a beginner when it comes to Twitter.
5. I am not at his level in the education world.
6. I am scared to death to say yes, but he is my boss, so I better say yes.
7. I am going to FAIL.

I talked to several people after saying yes.  I just knew I made the wrong decision.  I sought out a co-worker that had already done it.  He told me that it was not hard and that I could do it.  I then talked to one of my biggest cheerleaders, my mom.  She told me that she was so proud of me and that I better not turn it down.

So, I picked up the book that I wrote a small piece in, the book was Stories From Webb.  (The other time I went out of my comfort zone.)

As I started reading my little section, I started coming up with so many questions.  In fact, I had more then the four I needed to do the chat.  As I was coming up with the question, I typed them in a Google Doc and then picked the four best.  Or at least I thought they were the best ones.  Then I shared the document knowing that Todd would just laugh at me and tell me that they were horrible.  Well, that did not happen.  He thought they were good and to use them.

I then sat down with him to show me how to schedule them.  I had already decided that this would be hard.  As I sat there watching how he was doing it on his computer (because mine was not working correctly at the moment), I realized my thinking was all wrong.  Granted, I also was thinking, I am going to get back to my classroom and not be able to do it.

When I went back to my classroom, I thought "okay here it goes, I am going to try it and hope for the best."  As I was typing, I kept thinking "this is way to easy, I must not be doing something right."  I then showed Todd, and he said great!

The night of the Twitter Chat I was so nervous.  The tweets were showing up so fast and it was so hard to keep up with what people were typing in.  The 30 minutes went by so fast.

I am glad that I was pushed out of my comfort zone and did this.  I realized that I was thinking it was so much harder then it really was.  Thank you Todd for pushing me.

It is hard to push yourself out of that comfort zone, but when you do you find out that you learn more about yourself and others.

I am now in the process of thinking what will be the next thing that will push me to get out of my comfort zone.  Will it be to present in the symposium next year in our district.  Will it be trying to find a position that gets me out of the classroom.  Will it be to have another student teacher next year.  I am not for sure yet, but I know when the opportunity is before me I will take it and be uncomfortable for awhile and be glad at the end that I took on the challenge.

I challenge you today to push yourself out of your comfort zone and try something new.