How to stretch yourself out of your comfort zone

Author and careers expert Maureen Simon gives us her inside tips. Spoiler alert: they’re pretty empowering…

Modern women are too often plagued with impostor syndrome and a lack of self-confidence in the workplace, often refraining from stretching themselves and hesitant to leave their comfort zones.

‘Women often fall because we don’t put our best foot forward’, says Maureen Simon: author of Awakening the Essential Feminine: Claiming Your Influential Power and founder of The Essential Feminine Company, ‘that is something that needs to change’.

Referred to as a ‘master of change and transition’, Simon has built her career on her ability to ignite women’s businesses and lives, something she hopes to instil in us all.

Here are her golden rules for stretching yourself out of your comfort zone and remaining career resilient...

1. Align your work with things you value and believe in. ‘Hold a vision for something you value and that you can work towards every day, even if you have to do bread and butter work in the meantime. We are all here for a specific reason and if we identify what that it and start moving towards it, life becomes easier, and much more fulfilling. My best gifts are supporting people and getting them to create lives that reflect their values, so that’s what I do for a whole consulting business.’

2. Always reach for the next level. ‘When applying for jobs and building businesses, always go for the next level and always ask for more. Women often fall because we don’t put our best foot forward - we feel intimidated. The opportunities will always come if you step out, not always immediately, but they will.’

3. Surround yourself with support. ‘It is important to be surrounded with people who support and understand you and your overall vision. We women are high supporters and we collaborate very well together – we need to feel supported, to have that mirror or reflection board to bounce off. I’m surrounded by a team of friends that I’ve known forever – in fact very often I’ve known the people I work with all my life.’

4. Be gentle with yourself. ‘Still your mind everyday and take time to rejuvenate. Build that into your lifestyle. If your mind is calmer and clearer you’ll get more information and clearer intuition. Stillness and rejuvenation are where you get your highest level of success. Whether you find it in a quiet lunch with a friend, a walk by the river, zone running or just a bit of time journaling – you have to find your own version of rejuvenation and do it because otherwise you’re going to go into full-blown depletion. To remain resilient you have to take care of yourself.’