lawyering in the learning zone
The other day, some friends and I were discussing our personal histories of taking risks in our business lives. By risks, we all meant those voluntary – and sometimes involuntary – moves we’ve made into the unknown in order to fulfill our dreams of the day and survive and thrive professionally.
Over the last 15 years, my personal journey has taken me from the relative comfort and security of big firm work to launching my own practice and a training and development business. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a person, lawyer and entrepreneur during this risk-to-change process. There have been successes and stumbles, but they’ve all moved me in a positive direction.
Passion catalyst Curt Rosengren of The Occupational Adventure has a terrific post on the mechanics of risk-taking. Drawing from an article on risk by life coach Laurie R. Geary, Rosengren describes how the risk-taking realm is made up of three zones – the comfort zone, the learning zone, and the anxiety zone.
According to Geary, when we risk a change, we pass through the leading edge of our comfort zone into the learning zone. These two zones co-exist in a symbiotic circuit of sorts. As we leap into the unknown and learn something new, that acquired knowledge or skill set gets assimilated into our comfort zone, expanding it.
The key in this risk-growth exchange is to avoid venturing beyond the learning zone into our anxiety zone where, Geary says, no learning takes place because we’re too busy channeling all our energy into managing our angst.
