Welcome to this month’s edition of Invenio, brought to you by the IIC&M!
Break Barriers is what we will be discussing this month. In coaching and mentoring, breaking barriers is all about overcoming obstacles. Some barriers may be very practical, but often we will be discussing psychological barriers; thoughts, believes and feelings which prevent us from moving out of our comfort zone.
But why is that so important? The comfort zone isn’t such a bad place to be in, now is it? Cocooning in our comfort zone reduces our stress and anxiety levels, which is actually very good for our mental and physical health. We feel good in our comfort zone during the day, and it helps us sleep better at night. So why on earth would we want to leave our comfort zone to break those barriers anyway?
I think the answer is pretty simple: the land of our hopes and dreams is usually located next to our comfort zone. It’s human nature to want more out of our lives and careers then we currently have, and in order to achieve those ambitions, we will need to push our boundaries beyond our comfort zone. And yes, that may come with some level of stress and anxiety, but it also comes with the kick of adrenaline whilst we are pushing forward, and with the great reward of pride and accomplishment once we have reached those goals.
When you would ask anyone to look back on their life and share their very best moments with you, most people will refer to situations in which they have had to break some barriers, and step right out of their comfort zones, in order to achieve their goals. Giving birth means overcoming tough labour, setting a personal record means overcoming the hardships of extensive training, and landing that dream job, assignment or diploma means putting in some hard work first. The things that didn’t come easy are the things that made us feel most proud of ourselves!
I hope that this month’s edition of Invenio will inspire you to break some barriers yourself, or to help others doing that in your role as coaches and mentors, with great rewards as a result!
Warmest regards,
Denny
Denny Portier-Terpstra
Editor
Denny Portier-Terpstra
Editor of Insight brought to you by the IIC&M.
Denny is also an experienced coach and mentor, and an HR Professional.
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