057 - Get out of your Comfort Zone and into your Sweet Spot [Podcast]

Get our of your Comfort Zoneand into your SWEET SPOT(1) — created at canva.com

Welcome to Season 2 of the Your Church Matters podcast. In this episode (57), I explored some differences between the legendary comfort zone and the elusive sweet spot and offered some diagnostic questions for finding the latter. Finally, I offered a focused 3 step process for making the move to the sweet spot.

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Contrasting the comfort zone and the sweet spot

In your comfort zone, you know just about everything. In your sweet spot, you are curious to learn more.

In your comfort zone, you can often relax and coast on autopilot. In your sweet spot, you draw energy from stretching and reaching with intentional focus.

In your comfort zone, you can be safe in your current reality. In your sweet spot, you can risk a new vision.

In your comfort zone, you can develop efficient habits around your natural abilities. In your sweet spot, you can craft effective strategies out of developing strengths.

If you remain in the inertia of your comfort zone, you can easily stagnate and watch your comfort zone shrink. However, if you move into your sweet spot, you can be consistently refreshed and watch your sweet spot expand.

Diagnostic questions for finding your sweet spot

If money and people resources were unlimited, what would you spend most of your time doing?

What keeps you awake at night—not worrying, but dreaming?

What gives you the greatest sense of fulfillment in ministry?

What part of ministry always pulls your “A” game out of you?

What part of ministry would you do for free because it is just who you are?

A 3 step process for making the move

Completing a robust self-discovery process. Getting clarity on my spiritual gifts, personality, strengths, and passions proved informative, inspiring, and freeing. In addition to the diagnostic questions, I use, and recommend, two primary assessment tools (others are available, but I really like these):
1. P.L.A.C.E. – This assessment offers insight into personality, spiritual gifts, the atmosphere in which you best function, connecting your passion to your ministry, and maximizing your life experiences.
2. Leading from your Strengths – This assessment, from Ministry Insights, helps identify your natural and adapted strengths and helps you understand where your strengths lie in the areas of problem solving, processing information, managing change, and facing risk.

Note: For information on how you can engage me as a coach or consultant to work with you and your team using either of these tools (including a significant discount on the Leading from your strengths assessment), please email me.

Rebooting my spiritual life. I’m not just talking about more prayer and Bible study, but new, heartfelt conversations with God about why—out of all the people He could have put here—He put ME here. This ongoing dialogue has given me a ministry “why.”

An ongoing dialogue with God can give you your ministry WHY Click To Tweet

Forming an “invested” support team of close friends or associates. By “invested” I mean people who will actually benefit from my operating in my sweet spot. In my case, I asked my executive team (those to whom I report) to hold me accountable for doing the things that would bring the very best of me to the table.