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Like many parents, homeschooling, while we’re working, is the “norm”. Being asked to act and play a character in the opening scene from "The Princess and the Frog” that had to be recorded and marked by my daughter’s Drama teacher, maybe not??!!  The pressure ......

This was going to take me completely out of my comfort zone! I had to talk with a Southern Belle accent - help!!

In a work environment and when you are learning, you can operate in your comfort, stretch or stress (red) zone, according to Karl Rohnke's model. (See Image Below)

Your comfort zone is where your day-to-day, subconscious work happens - where you are on auto-pilot. It is easy, there are no surprises and you are competent and confident in what you do. However, very little learning or innovation could also take place.

Your stretch zone lies just outside your secure environment, slowly expanding your comfort zone by becoming more familiar with more things. It is where you work to expand your knowledge and understanding, looking for creative ways of working.  Learning, or re-learning takes place, and you develop the motivation to make a change, challenge yourself or take a risk.

Your stress zone or red zone is where, when you are taking risks, you can go beyond the learning and enter the stress zone. Here, your energy is used up managing and trying to control your anxiety, so you have little or no energy left over for learning. Sometimes you do need to enter this area because there is a problem, however, you shouldn't stay here long.

For each one of us our comfort, stretch, and panic zones are different.

After a few takes of the recording, because I couldn't stop laughing at my sound effects, the recording was finished and sent off.  You can listen HERE.

What did I learn about myself?  I was taken out of my comfort zone, though maybe not as much as I first thought. I think I definitely entered my stretch zone and may even have temporarily entered my stress zone, though I wasn't there for long.

Realise - "If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do";

Aspire - "If you want to grow to go to the cutting edge of your competence, which means a temporary loss of security"; and 

Do - "Then know that you are growing, when you don't quite know what you are doing!" adapted from (David Viscott, quote, 2003)