How stepping beyond our circle of comfort can help us to expand
“Whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth.”
Earlier this year, when I’d completed the manuscript for my book, I took a deep breath and sent copies (virtually, of course) to 250 beta readers. I can still vividly remember how vulnerable I felt, but I knew that it was an important - essential, even - part of the process, so I steadied my nerves and hit “send”. I’m relieved to report that not only did I live to tell the tale, but the feedback I received enabled me to really connect with my audience, so that I could make important changes, and improve and enrich my book - ahead of launch - in ways that wouldn’t have been possible on my own.
Fast forward to today, and over the past few weeks I’ve been sharing a range of cover design concepts with my followers on social media. The incredible part? Soliciting feedback was nowhere near as daunting as it was the last time.
I originally commissioned the artwork for my book cover some time ago, from a talented artist in California whose work I love. When I first received the artwork, I could see that it was a stunning piece of work which encapsulated all of the key concepts of my book; the messiness and imperfection of life; the crossing over of multiple layers; the vibrance and contrast of the colours. But for some reason I can’t explain, I just couldn’t imagine it on the cover of my book. So I didn’t really show it to anyone, in case they felt the same way and confirmed my fears.
After a while, I realised that keeping it to myself was getting me nowhere. I summoned the courage to show the artwork to some great designers, who were able to create some fantastic design concepts which really brought the piece together and helped me to envisage it as a book cover. I’m thrilled with how they turned out, and it’s been great to be able to share some of those design concepts and sample book covers with my social media followers, whose feedback has been really positive.
But in order to arrive at this position, I had to force myself to face my discomfort and fear head on - by sharing the artwork with my designers - before I could feel more comfortable. Then I was emboldened to share their design concepts with my followers, because by stepping beyond my circle of comfort and confidence, I had expanded it; each time we do that, our circle expands just a little bit further, making it less daunting, overwhelming or scary the next time.
The more we’re brave enough to face uncomfortable things in our lives - by acting with courage and stepping into our fears - the more we expand towards what's possible in the future. I’m seeing evidence of that regularly in my own life: as I take steps to expand the circle, what's possible becomes even more expansive. And one of the best things is, this expansion doesn’t have to take the form of giant leaps: one small step that pushes you a little bit out of your comfort zone is enough.
Personally, I find that sharing my work makes me feel vulnerable. But it’s getting a little bit less daunting every time. Think about what challenges you and makes you feel uncomfortable, and whether it could be stopping you from achieving your goals and dreams. What are you scared of, and what could you do to step beyond your circle of comfort, to expand the reaches of what’s possible?
