Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Away from discomfort or towards it?

Running makes me uncomfortable in more ways than one and yet, I have taken it up as a challenge and want to see if I can get comfortable with it. I am well aware that it wont be an overnight process, and that it will be a painful process, but I am putting myself in that 'zone of discomfort'. (Some may call me crazy for doing that, but I believe that I will learn more from this experience)

Asking for feedback/ advice is another thing that usually makes people uncomfortable, and you do this a lot throughout your MBA. Putting yourself out there and trusting someone else to rip you apart and critique you, is not a fun process, but you are better for it. I have been lucky to have had the most blunt mentors who will tell me how crappy my stories may be, but at the same time coach me and challenge me to improve them. I have learnt that when someone takes the time to rip you apart, they care - its easy to say that something is good, not so easy to tell you that you suck and here's exactly why. Putting myself in an uncomfortable position where I am agreeing that I need to work more on my skills/ deliverable pushes me to do better. I end up wondering if I have a tendency to run towards discomfort (in this particular case of feedback - maybe I run to comfort in other scenarios - case in point - FOOD), but I'm sure for a lot of people, it is all about running towards comfort. Giving feedback is also a skill - an important one that B-school teaches you. Its a test of who truly cares (although keep in mind that everyone has a million other priorities, no hard feelings, but at the time you are not a priority) and who can take critique well.

I have also learnt that unsolicited advice usually falls on deaf ears, for the most part. Wait for someone to ask for advice - free advice is not something people want to hear.

Bottom Line: Get uncomfortable once in a while, it helps you appreciate comfort more.

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