Being Comfortable In The Uncomfortable

If you have ever done yoga, you will know that sometimes you can be in a pose and it can feel a little uncomfortable. Not painful, just uncomfortable, if you are in pain please stop. Think about Warrior II when your arms are out to each side. It can be a challenge at to keep your arms up and in position, particularly when your arms get tired or you haven’t practiced in a while. But for all the time you are in the pose, a few breaths or a few minutes, you know you will push past the tiredness or discomfort and move onto the next pose.

Or think about when you are chatting with a colleague or person you don’t really know well and the conversation stills and an uncomfortable silence or awkward moment falls over the moment. You will likely ride it out and either start a fresh conversation or walk away saying you have things to do rather than sit in the awkwardness.

Think about when you are at work, and what you need to do. You will likely get emails or have tasks that are challenging and out of the norm. If you are unsure, you may put the task to the bottom of the list and hope by some miracle it disappears or you manage to complete it relatively simply.

We all love an email that we can respond to quickly or easily, you know the ones. They require little thought and effort and you can rattle off a reply in an instance. These tasks make for an easy day and sometimes it is bliss when you can have a day of simple but different questions you could answer with your eyes closed.

However, work wouldn’t be fun or challenging without those head scratching moments. No matter how much we wish at the time these didn’t exist, it enables us to use our knowledge, experience and skills to unpick and come up with a solution. This is what you work for, this is perhaps what you trained for.

Do you ever find yourself itching to get a task off your desk, to give it to someone who may know more or would know how to deal with it or take responsibility for it so you can wash your hands of it and breathe out.

If however, you have no choice but to complete the task or answer the question, where to begin can be the hardest part. If you have no idea where to start, rather than just bury your head in the sand or in amongst all your other easier emails, take a deep breath and re read. Make some notes, and plan.

Think about who can help you, is there a colleague or manager that may know more, could you go back to the source and ask questions? Is there any research you could do online or within your office. Quite often we put tasks off because we have no idea how to undertake the challenge, but once you have commenced you get stuck in and do what you need to do.

Working in HR you would be surprised by the range of questions I get asked or the situations I have to resolve. I used to long for someone to take on my tough issues. I would happily be an observer, taking a back seat to learn what the solution would be rather than get stuck in.

I saw these tasks as a nuisance, something to slow down my day, getting in the way of the quick and simple tasks that could be ticked off. I always felt I lacked confidence too, I doubted myself, even though I knew the answer.

It has taken me years to be comfortable with the uncomfortableness and to revel in a challenge. Maybe it comes down to experience, to learning and dealing with so many situations that nothing surprises me and there is only so many ways to deal with a situation. Or perhaps it’s an age thing or a bit of both.

Now instead of willing someone to take on the challenges, I look forward to getting stuck in, I don’t want to pass these on. I don’t need to rush and get them off my desk, I feel the uncomfortableness and push through, just like when I am in the Warrior II pose. No matter the challenge, I know it will pass and before long, I’ll be onto the next one.

So the next time you face a task or email you feel uncertain or uncomfortable tackling, stop. Take a deep breath and know you can do it. Acknowledge the feelings you have and then start. It doesn’t matter if you are unsure or lack confidence. Do your best and come up with a plan, you can always run it past your manager or colleague, but the important thing is, don’t be afraid to try. You never know, you might realise how much you love being in the uncomfortable and challenging space.

Have a great week. Take care and look after you.

Love Emma xx