Last week I went on a 45km bike ride.
For a seasoned cyclist, that may not sound like much. But for me, it felt like an achievement.
It was only my third time on a road bike. It was raining and windy at times. And although I consider myself reasonably fit, I quickly discovered that cycling uses muscles I don’t normally think about. My shoulders were tense and my arms started hurting. And every time we stopped for a break, the first five minutes after getting back on the bike felt brutal.
Somewhere between fighting my negative thoughts and counting down the remaining kilometres, I found myself thinking about self-employment.
Starting a business feels remarkably similar.
If you’re considering leaving corporate employment and building something of your own, you’ve probably noticed that growth often comes hand in hand with serious discomfort. The transition from corporate employment to self-employment asks us to do things we’ve never done before. There is uncertainty about the future, risks such as making the wrong decisions or losing a regular pay cheque, and the need to step outside of our comfort zone.
Over the past year, and particularly since the beginning of this year, I’ve challenged myself in ways I never imagined I would.
I stood up and delivered my first elevator pitch in front of 90 women. Out of six pitches, I was judged last.
I published my first videos on LinkedIn.
I created and hosted my first webinar, with three more to come over the next few months.
I asked former clients if they would be willing to show up publicly and speak about our work together.
Every single one of those moments felt like standing at the bottom of a mountain. I questioned whether I was capable of reaching the top, feeling vulnerable and slightly sick to my stomach.
Yet every time I did it anyway, the mountain afterwards shrank into a tiny hill that felt much easier to climb.
Which leaves me to conclude that every one of those challenges made me a little stronger, a little more confident, and a little more willing to trust myself. Simply because I was willing to try, despite my fears.
Why self-employment feels so uncomfortable
One of the biggest differences between employment and self-employment is the amount of uncertainty we suddenly need to navigate.
In corporate careers, there is often a structure around us. We know where the next pay cheque is coming from. We know what progression looks like within the organisation. We know what we need to do in order to get the recognition we’re after.
Self-employment removes much of that certainty.
There is no pre-defined career path.
No guaranteed successful outcome (even the definition of success itself can become uncertain).
No manager telling you whether you’re doing a good job.
Instead, there are many rather worrying questions.
What if I leave a safe role with a regular income and my business doesn’t generate enough money?
What if I’m not disciplined enough or don’t have the drive for self-employment?
What will people think of my decision?
The people I work with are often experienced professionals who have built successful careers. They are capable, intelligent and successful on paper. Yet many find themselves feeling stuck, disconnected or tired from their hard work.
They know something needs to change.
What often stands in the way of them taking control of their career happiness is the discomfort that comes with doing something different.
Growth happens when we’re challenged
What fascinates me is that challenging other people seems to be one of my strongest coaching skills.
At the end of our work together, my clients complete a feedback questionnaire so I can continue improving my coaching work. Across all the feedback I’ve received so far, the section about being challenged has consistently been scored 5 out of 5.
It appears people value being challenged.
And I understand why. Growth makes us feel stronger, more confident in our abilities and decision-making, and brings us closer to who we really are.
Whether it’s creating an exit plan, testing a business idea, having difficult conversations at work or building confidence in a new career, meaningful change requires us to stretch beyond our comfort zone.
Much like sitting on a road bike in the rain with aching shoulders and another 20 kilometres still ahead of you.
Again, every challenge we encounter expands what feels possible.
What once felt terrifying becomes manageable.
What once felt impossible becomes evidence that we are capable of so much more than we believe.
The cost of staying comfortable
When people think about leaving a corporate career, they mainly focus on the risks involved.
The uncertainty, the risk of financial instability, or the possibility that things may not work out.
Our brain is wired to worry about risks. It’s an intrinsic survival mechanism.
But there is another side to that equation.
There is also a cost to staying where you are.
The cost of remaining in a workplace that drains your energy.
The cost of ignoring what matters to you.
The cost of postponing the decision to leave, year after year.
The cost of never discovering what you’re actually capable of and what makes your heart sing.
As for my challenges this year:
The bike ride eventually ended.
The webinar finished.
The pitch was delivered.
The videos were posted.
And each time, the mountain that had seemed so enormous suddenly looked much smaller from the other side.
Many professionals considering self-employment focus on the challenges of leaving their corporate career. Yet growth, confidence and clarity often emerge when we’re willing to challenge ourselves and take small steps towards what might feel like a mountain to climb.
The cost of being challenged is discomfort.
The more interesting question is:
What is the cost of not being challenged?