Are you on the right path to becoming the person that you want to be?
Last week I wrote about how feedback is a gift… that when our boss, our parents, our friends, or our spouse provide feedback, we tend to get defensive and discount what they say. I explained how if we want to improve, we need to listen to their words because perception is reality and there is a nugget of truth buried deep inside feedback. I explained that feedback is only a gift if we receive it.
But there’s another danger to be aware of – the danger of being good enough.
When we’re good enough, all we ever hear from others is good job. We get a pat on the back and a tip of the hat. We get the passing grade in class, or a decent annual review at work. We go through our day executing with excellence but we never break a sweat. We feel like we’ve finally made it, we know what we’re doing and we do it well. We’ve arrived and everybody loves us.
Here’s the thing – if all you ever hear from others is good job, you’re not growing. And if you haven’t done something in the last 60 days that puts you completely out of your comfort zone, you’re not on the path to becoming a better version of you.
There’s a song by the band Muse that has the following lyrics:
I’ve had recurring nightmares
That I was loved for who I am
And missed the opportunity
To be a better man
I’ve thought about those words a lot this week. They’ve haunted me. I’ve struggled to accept them. But they are true. As long as I focus on being loved and staying in my safe zone, I’m cheating myself out of being the person that I want to be. That’s a hard pill to swallow. Why put ourselves through discomfort if we don’t have to? Why not just sit back and enjoy the fruit of our labor?
Because there is no growth in the comfort zone and there is no comfort in the growth zone. Unless we do the things that we’re afraid to do, we’ll never reach our full potential. If you don’t have anyone in your life pushing you to get to the next level or to try something different, you’ll need to push yourself. It will be strange. Your family and friends may not understand it. That’s okay, they will.
If everybody loves you, if you’re not being challenged by others or by yourself, it may be time to decide if you’re on the path that you want to be on and if you’re in the danger zone of good enough.