This weekend I rode out of my comfort zone. I had signed up for a sample indoor cycling class with a group of friends. At first I was reluctant to sign up. I was content doing my regular workout at my gym. I enjoy listening to various podcasts* during my time at the gym instead of being told what to do by a new instructor.

I had several preconceptions about the environment and skills needed to “do it right” at the indoor cycling class. What I actually found was that it was a cool workout space with fun music and quality equipment. The skills needed to get started were not complicated. The one-hour session seemed to go really quickly. In retrospect, most of my initial objections to participating in the class seemed pretty flimsy.

A professional comfort zone can be a hindrance to the health of your business. For example, to stay within my WordPress comfort zone I might offer resistance to using a newly available plugin where there may be a bit of a learning curve. I might make an excuse and not attend a WordPress meetup or WordCamp to connect with new people.

Participating in a regular mastermind group can be a considerable step out of comfort zone. I have found my mastermind group cohorts have skills, procedures and attitudes that are not exactly like mine. Realizing this contrast creates a temporary uneasy feeling. However, I know that getting exposed to other ways of doing things can help me to grow out of my comfort zone as I know and trust people who have already done it successfully.

Sometimes you might be forced to move out of your WordPress comfort zone for good reasons:

• you have outdated plugins installed that are no longer working and may introduce a security risk
• you are using old set up methods that are familiar but slow
• WordPress core is updated
• your favorite free plugin is no longer supported
• a client project requires tools you have only passing experience working with
• you need to migrate to new hosting to improve a client website’s performance.

Making a habit of taking small, regular steps beyond your comfort zone is important to laying the foundation for a sustainable business.  However, as you venture outside of WordPress comfort zone be sure you have a regular backup of your files.

*Selected Podcasts:
MattReport
Accidental Creative
Startup
Bootstrapped Web

Image Credit: Jeremy Snyder