Psychology in Everyday Life

Exploring the science behind how we think, feel and behave.

Back in My Comfort Zone – Or Am I?

When I started Curborough Academy for Social Sciences (CASS), part of the attraction was the opportunity to do something different.

After many years working in education, I wanted to create something of my own: an adult education provider where I could shape courses, make decisions quickly, respond to learners and, perhaps most importantly, teach the subjects I care about in the way I believe they should be taught.

Starting a new education business has certainly given me that change.

It has also given me a very steep learning curve.

Over the past year, I have found myself learning about everything from websites and Google advertising to course approvals, social media marketing, finance, recruitment and business networking. CASS remains very much a priority, and I am enormously invested in seeing it grow. But growing a new adult education business takes time, and like many people starting a business, I reached the point where I decided that some additional paid work alongside it would be sensible.

So I started looking for jobs.

And after thinking about all sorts of possibilities, I seem to have ended up…back where I started.

I am returning for a few hours each week to the college where I taught for 16 years, alongside some online tutoring.

The strange thing is that I am really pleased about it.

Psychologically, perhaps that should not be quite as surprising as it feels.

We often talk about the comfort zone as though it is somewhere we need to escape from. Personal development advice regularly encourages us to “step outside our comfort zone”, take risks and embrace change.

There is some truth in that. New experiences can build confidence, develop skills and increase our sense of what we are capable of. Starting CASS has certainly done all three for me. But psychology also reminds us that familiarity is not necessarily the enemy of growth.

Familiar environments can provide psychological safety. When we already understand a role, a workplace or a professional culture, we do not have to devote quite so much mental energy to working out what is expected of us. That can leave more capacity for creativity, relationships and the parts of a job that we genuinely enjoy. There is also something reassuring about returning to a professional identity that has been built over many years.

For much of my working life, I have been a lecturer and tutor. Teaching, explaining ideas, encouraging learners and watching people develop confidence are things I know how to do. Returning to those activities does not feel like abandoning change. Oddly, it feels more like rediscovering a part of myself while continuing to build something new.

Perhaps this is an example of what psychologists might describe as person-environment fit: the degree to which our abilities, values and preferences suit the environment in which we are working. We may want novelty and challenge, but we also tend to thrive when we have a sense of competence, purpose and connection.

Those ideas sit closely with self-determination theory, which suggests that wellbeing is supported by three important psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness.Running CASS provides a huge amount of autonomy. I can develop ideas, make decisions and shape the organisation. Returning to teaching provides something slightly different: an immediate sense of competence and connection.

Perhaps I need both.

That has made me rethink career change. We sometimes imagine that moving forward means leaving everything behind. But careers do not have to develop in neat, straight lines. We can build something new while still valuing the skills, knowledge and relationships developed through earlier stages of our working lives.

This feels particularly relevant in adult education, where many learners come to us precisely because they are reconsidering their own direction. Some want a complete career change. Others want to build confidence, gain a new qualification, explore psychology, counselling or mental health, or simply discover what they are capable of.

Growth does not always mean becoming someone completely different. Sometimes it means adding something new to who you already are. So am I back in my comfort zone? A little bit, perhaps.

But CASS continues to push me well beyond it on an almost daily basis. I am still learning about running an independent education provider, developing new courses, reaching new learners and building something that I hope will have a long-term future.

For now, though, I am rather looking forward to walking back into a classroom and doing something that feels wonderfully familiar.

Maybe a comfort zone is not always somewhere we need to escape.

Sometimes it is simply a good place to stand while we decide where to go next.