Taking the hard path
Is it time to get out of your comfort zone?
It only seems like yesterday I was writing about my choice to leave Zone and join DAZN .
It has been really incredible. I feel I have found something extra special. The work and people have been at such an exceptional level, I’ve been awestruck.
But, I won’t lie, I had a bit of a mind-wobble in the first week. Everything was new. Even the stuff I did recognise was different. To be quite honest, having the wobble was a unique feeling in itself.
This initially took me back. I’ve been in the web industry professionally for over 10 years; I know my stuff! What was causing this?
After some introspection, I realised my ‘wobble’ was not that I was worried I’d made a mistake; far from it, I was loving it! Instead, I realised I had been used to taking the easy option and being in my comfort zone. I’d forgotten what it was like to actually grow and honestly challenge myself.
It reminds me of President Kennedy’s speech at Rice University’s stadium in Houston, Texas, on September 12th 1962.
We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.
We often just do what’s easy - that’s not a bad thing. Nobody wants to fail, and that fear of failure can be a genuine hurdle to jump over. So it’s only natural to seek comfort and stability in what you know rather than what you don’t.
However, I’ve learned that it is essential to recognise when a choice or series of decisions constantly takes an easy route, not just in your career but in life. Much like water, if you don’t move, you can stagnate after time.
Easy choices demonstrate what you are.
Hard choices demonstrate what you can be.
For this reason, I am so glad this job and the new experiences it brings has challenged me. It has reignited my passion for my craft, which is not to be taken lightly. I have learnt and grown more in the last 7 months than in the past few years of my career. Additionally, I am surrounded by people who share the love of the “hard choice”. We are making some cool, complex stuff which is incredibly exciting to be a part of.
So, 7 months down, I cannot wait to see how the next year turns out.
