In September's GO! Newsletter, I wrote about the Trap of Competence. How it's easy to pigeonhole yourself into being "the one who's good at ….." and staying there. Defending that turf. "But I'M the one who fixes the copier when it's jammed!" "But I'M the bench press guy around here!"
Change – improvement – demands that you operate in the margins: in those areas where you're not comfortable. By definition, exposure to the unfamiliar means stumbling, failing, and dropping the bar from awkward positions. It means imperfect form for awhile. Coaching helps. But coaches can't carry you across the river; they've just seen the farther shore.
Interestingly, frequent exposure to change has its own training effect. Changing regularly means you become more adept at handling change. You become comfortable being uncomfortable.
In 1996, I lucked into an Internship two years early. I was a sophomore; the employer wanted a graduating Senior. Somehow, I talked my way into the job. Day One: Karaoke. I, the Intern, was taken to a watering hole, and sent up on stage, solo. No alcohol allowed. Friends back home were jealous of my luck…until they heard about singing Randy Travis songs somewhere in the middle of the Illinois Cornbelt. Thirteen years later, though, you can't shut me up in public (just ask my Saturday 9am group.)
I was lucky to have parents who allowed me to take major jumps – first into the bush for half a year, then to Illinois, then Wisconsin – on little more than a whim, often on less than a week's notice, when I was still a teenager. And I'm lucky now to have had shareholders who backed me up to the hilt, despite catastrophe-level risk. I've become comfortable being uncomfortable.
Next time a heavy Snatch WOD rolls around, it would be easy to skip. Few people ever list Snatch as their best lift, even people who do it for a living. It's hard. It hurts. And you miss the lift a LOT. But after the WOD, will it be easier to confront your boss about a bad decision? Yes. Will it be easier to tell your husband to put his damn dishes away? Yes.
If you want change, you've can't shy away from the margins.