| This post was kindly contributed by Key Happenings at support.sas.com - go there to comment and to read the full post. |
If you have a magazine subscription or you read the magazines at the checkout counter, you know that they are always a month ahead of your calendar. My January 2010 magazines have already arrived and they are all talking about resolutions. Resolutions are a good thing, but shouldn’t be limited to January 1. So try this year-long resolution — challenge your comfort zone once each week. That’s only 52 new things for 2010.
We all get in ruts and don’t always realize it. These ruts can keep us from having innovative ideas, from meeting interesting people, or from finding a new favorite food. Stepping outside of your comfort zone can make you happier, healthier, and maybe wealthier if your innovative ideas are good enough.
I have started to work on this concept already. Here’s my small, fun story. I went to a holiday lunch with a couple of friends. At the last minute, we picked the cafe in the landscaping company next to the resturant for which we had driven downtown. With a little encouragement, I bought a new swag to decorate my mantel. It is beautful and I can’t wait for my family to take Christmas pictures in front of it.
My comfort zone challenge continues into the new year, personally and professionally. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be finishing up a paper to be presented at SAS Global Forum 2010. This is a big step for many of us, but when you have information to share, the payoff for you and your audience can be well worth the sweaty palms and rapid heartbeat.
But, you don’t have to go that far. I’ve provided a few simple personal and professional suggestions to help you challenge your comfort zone in 2010.
Start small. Try the resturant next door to your favorite resturant. Sit at a different table in your company cafe. Watch a video to learn a new skill instead of using your favorite documentation. Visit your local library and check out an author you have never heard of. Or, try one of these:
- Meet one new person in your professional field by attending a user group event.
- Share your knowledge on a SAS discussion forum. Start with a single response.
- Skip your support.sas.com bookmarks and discover a new technical resource by searching support.sas.com.
- Attend a Live Web SAS course.
- Write a tip for the sasCommunity.org tip of the day project.
| This post was kindly contributed by Key Happenings at support.sas.com - go there to comment and to read the full post. |