What comes next

Like it or not, we learn the most when our backs are up against the wall, when the pressure is on. When we’re forced to harness all of our training and knowledge in a split reactionary second, to see exactly how much we can say and do under duress.

No one wants to be in high pressure situations all the time but what if that's when we learn the most? Sure, not all of these lessons are pleasant, and constantly being in a state of fight or flight doesn’t bode well for our long-term mental health. Can we be more strategic and selective however, and choose learning experiences that puts us out of our comfort zone in small but measurable ways?

The Common Problem

In addition to my roles in teaching and research at University, I have also worked as an academic career counsellor for thousands of university students over the past 10 years. Throughout the vast majority of these counselling sessions, most students have the same constant worry:

“I don’t know what I’m doing next?”

It could be next semester, next year, after they graduate, after they’ve outgrown their first job… Not knowing what you want to do and not knowing what the rest of your career looks like is a very scary proposition. Ironically being out of your comfort zone and being okay with not knowing exactly what you need to do may actually be the most reliable way get what you want even if you don't know what that is right at this moment.

As a microbiologist it’s hard not to see the parallels between superbugs adapting to the environment around them and the value we may experience in being flexible within our professional contexts. Superbugs are constantly adjusting to dangers around every corner, as antibiotics have flooded our healthcare system. Strains of bacteria that have the ability to survive in that environment have an enormous advantage over those that cannot resist those same drugs. When the environment keeps changing however, the bacteria also need to have the ability to acquire new genes or proteins - their malleability is ultimately what makes them “super”. Their comfort zone (or lack thereof) is living between the margins, always looking for next edge for survival.

What is a Comfort Zone?

A comfort zone is a state of mind where you feel at ease, with low amounts of anxiety and stress, which allows you to perform any tasks and skills that you already know how to do at a steady level. This can be considered “optimum” or “peak” performance by some, but only as it relates to your existing knowledge base.

Inevitably as you attempt to learn new skills and competencies, your anxiety and stress levels will rise, your short-term performance won’t be at your best, and any sense of comfort goes out of the window. University students are all too familiar with this, as there is not too much you are comfortable with at this stage of your life (especially if you are coming straight from high school). To expand the scope of your comfort zone over time, continually stepping outside of your comfort zone to try new things, and putting yourself in situations that may elevate your anxiety and stress (to a manageable degree) is the most reliable method.

Trust the Process

The advice I try to give to students when they're in their first year of study is don't put too much pressure on yourself because everything around you is brand new. You have enough new things to deal with, and no first-year student is perfectly comfortable. Classes, buildings, timetabling… the best place to start is to make sure you are taking care of your core business as a student - developing a solid foundational study strategy that works for you.

I have talked about this before, but students should constantly be reflecting on when to revise, how to take notes (hand written? digital?), the best combination of in-person attendance with online learning, and how to leverage the available learning resources (lecture slides, videos, practice tests) while creating your own (study notes, key concepts, your own revision questions).

Although you can talk to learning advisors and other students about all of this, you won’t know what works for you until you try it out. Much of this is specific to the type of subject you are studying - studying mathematics is very different from reading English literature, and a good test of how robust of your studying technique is to try taking an elective. Learning a different language, completing different types of assessment tasks than you’re typically used to, or simply going to a different part of campus will all take you out of your comfort zone in incremental but productive ways.

In the moment

If you’re not taking care of your core business as a student, developing a study strategy that works for you in as many different courses, disciplines, or environments as possible, this hampers your ability to figure out the next step, whatever that may be for you. All of this is contingent on stepping out of your comfort zone to embrace the uncertainty baked into the whole university experience.

Next time let’s talk about how the idea of comfort zones applies when you’re trying to find your first job after graduation.

Jack.