Global Leadership Hub

Imagine this: you're recently promoted to a position of leadership. You're excited about the new challenges and opportunities this role brings. However, as the days pass, you find yourself overwhelmed with the demands of your new position. Your to-do list seems never-ending, and you're constantly juggling between work and personal life, trying to maintain some semblance of balance.

Believe me, I get it. I worked hard to reach a leadership position, and thought I had it all figured out. But the reality was far from it. I found myself stressed, exhausted, and struggling to keep up with the demands of my new role. It took me a while until I discovered the importance of setting small daily goals, staying connected with others, finding enjoyment in my work, and prioritising self-care. These ACES activities helped me find the balance I needed to excel in my new role while maintaining my overall wellbeing.

So, how can you support yourself and others to achieve sustainable growth and wellbeing in your workplace and in life itself? Keep reading.

 A little about the Comfort Zone

 Let’s begin by discussing the ‘comfort zone’. The comfort zone is where we feel familiar and at ease, often saying to ourselves, “I know what I know.” This zone is great to recharge our battery; however, staying in this zone for too long can lead to boredom and even a feeling of depression.

When we step outside our comfort zone, we enter the learning zone. Here, we acknowledge that “I know there are things that I don’t know.”, embracing uncertainty and growth. The more curious and excited we are about this zone, the more we learn and develop.

However, if we push ourselves too far beyond our learning zone, we enter the panic zone. Here, we experience excessive uncertainty and stress, because we expect too much in too little time from ourselves and others. This can lead to burnout and anxiety. 

PS: If you want to know more about the Comfort Zone, read this article.

A little about the panic zone

What if we stay in the Panic Zone for too long and too often? Unfortunately, this is where ‘burnouts’ and depression can occur! This is an essential conversation to have, because mental and emotional wellbeing becomes increasingly a challenge in today’s busy and ever-changing environment where expectations are very high. When somebody experiences a burnout, their body is saying: “Don’t do that to me anymore! I don’t want to (neither can I) be that overperforming person any longer. Because the pressure that I have been (or put myself) under for too long, is too high and unsustainable!” And the chance that that person begins to experience a feeling of depression is very high, because we need to see the word ‘depressed’ as ‘deep rest’, due to an exhausted body having used way too much energy from being in the panic zone for too long. Therefore, a person who feels ‘depressed’ needs a ‘deep rest’ (in the Comfort Zone) from the identity their body is tired to play and uphold.

This is not sustainable and not where you want to see anyone, including yourself!

However, if you deal with individuals who feel depressed or need a ‘deep rest’, you can draw from the fact that rock bottom can become a solid foundation to rebuild. Often, after a breakdown comes a breakthrough where the body can consider new, more sustainable identities; recovering and re-charging the battery within the comfort zone and finding new inspiration to again step outside the comfort zone, but this time within reason (in other words, sustainably)!