Traci Schubert Barrett of Navigate the Journey On How to Grow Beyond Your Comfort Zone to Grow Both Personally and Professionally

An Interview With Maria Angelova

Share Your Goals: We all need someone else to hold us accountable. Left to our own devices, we will return to our comfort zone where we feel less risk. When we share our hopes, dreams, and goals with others, we are more likely to achieve them, and it’s always nice to have someone else cheering us on!

It feels most comfortable to stick with what we are familiar with. But anyone who has achieved great success will tell you that true growth comes from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. What are some ways that influential people have pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to grow both personally and professionally? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Traci Schubert Barrett.

Traci Schubert Barrett was one of the founding team members of national cable television network HGTV. After thirty years of experience in corporate America, Traci began to wonder, what if there’s more to our vocational lives than success? In a leap of faith, she quit her executive job and went on a soul-searching journey. Today, Traci is an entrepreneur, podcast host, speaker, author and executive coach who helps others in their search for meaning beyond success, and she lives with her husband and two daughters in Nashville, Tennessee.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

I was born and raised in South Florida. I attended Indiana University and moved to Chicago upon graduation. I lived in the city for 25 years before moving to Nashville. While I love the excitement of big-city living, Nashville has been a positive life change for my family and me. We love it here!

I spent much of my career in television. In my mid-twenties, I had the extraordinary opportunity to join a small group of people who started the cable television network HGTV: Home & Garden Television. I had the insane privilege of taking something from a fledgling idea to a billion-dollar media empire, which was an exceptional training ground for me as an entrepreneur. So much so that, after nearly twenty years at HGTV, I left and started my own company and am now the President & Founder of Navigate the Journey, a business consulting firm focused on helping executives and organizations reach their full potential. I have a deep passion for supporting and helping others to build their most fulfilling life and follow their passions, which led me to write my upcoming book, What If There’s More? Finding Significance Beyond Success, releasing January 24, 2023.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”

― Victor Frankl

When I consider all that Victor Frankl went through, it’s hard to comprehend how he became such a beacon of happiness and meaning in life. He endured the greatest atrocities this generation has ever known, yet his mind and heart stayed focused on the positive. I love this quote because it reminds us how we have control of our most important asset, our mind. Our minds can hold us back, propel us forward, feed us toxicity, or renew our hearts. We must mind our mind. It is like a garden that can blossom and give life or become overrun with weeds and dry soil making it nearly impossible to bear fruit. To bear fruit that positively impacts the world around me, I must remember the freedom to choose the right mindset in every situation, good or bad.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

When I was in college, my father gave me a copy of the book, The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. It was the first time I had read a book that completely altered my mindset. Our minds are so powerful, yet we often don’t check in on how we think and how those thoughts may affect our life trajectory. Our thoughts dictate our actions. Where we are today has everything to do with the dialogue we have entertained in our head. I’m grateful my father gave me that book and started me down the deeper path of self-awareness.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s start with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What does “getting outside of your comfort zone” mean?

Simply put, it means to mentally take yourself out of what feels safe and familiar in order to grow, learn, or achieve something new. It often means going off autopilot and being forced to look at a map and trust your instincts.

Can you help articulate a few reasons why it is important to get out of your comfort zone?

Our lives are full of opportunities if we are open to looking for them. Often the most rewarding opportunities take a leap of faith, which means stepping away from what is comfortable and embracing the unknown. The saying “no risk, no reward” exists for a reason. Most people know that to achieve great things they will feel uncertainty, vulnerability, and fear. Those things are not comfortable. But if you can push through, you can realize the hopes and dreams you have for your life.

It is also difficult to grow in wisdom or become more self-aware without pushing past your comfort zone. Wisdom is not automatic as we age, it must be pursued. You must stretch yourself intellectually, mentally, and sometimes even physically to grow in wisdom. You must be curious and intentional. For some people, it feels safer to just sit in their corner of the world and not stretch themselves to learn or challenge their thinking. The wisest people I know have pursued wisdom at the cost of their comfort, which is a noble pursuit.

Is it possible to grow without leaving your comfort zone? Can you explain what you mean?

There are several ways to expand your learning intellectually, mentally, and even spiritually without leaving your comfort zone, but growth that is the deepest and most lasting often happens within some challenge or struggle. When we intentionally leave where we feel safe and in control and push through the fear, we can enter growth mode. In this zone of growth, we can realize our greatest aspirations, remedy our blind spots, and be enlightened to our unique purpose.

Can you share some anecdotes from your personal experience? Can you share a story about a time when you stepped out of your comfort zone and how it helped you grow? How does it feel to take those first difficult steps?

As I mentioned previously, I was part of a small team of people that launched the television network HGTV, back in 1994. After almost twenty years at my beloved company, I woke up restless and wondering if there was something else out there for me, something more. Rather than ignoring those nagging feelings and staying in my comfortable and successful job, I took a leap of faith and left to not only spend more time with my family but to craft a new adventure. It was the scariest thing I had ever done in my life. On my first day post-HGTV, I felt naked, like I had lost my identity, but I pushed through the fear and insecurity and built a life on my terms, leaning into my gifts and talents to create a new company. It didn’t happen overnight but stepping outside my comfort zone took me places I never thought possible! It also caused me to reexamine who I am today and what I really want moving forward. I’m not sure I would have gotten the right answers without stepping out of my comfort zone.

Here is the central question of our discussion. What are your “five ways to push past your comfort zone, to grow both personally and professionally”? (If you can, please share a story or an example for each.)

1. Craft a Vision: Write out a detailed and rich picture of your life ahead. This imagined destination should feel obtainable yet have what I like to call a “faith gap,” so you know that you must step outside your comfort zone to get there. Make sure your vision includes a 360-degree view of your life. Start this exercise by answering the question: What do I want to be true five years from now that is not true today?

2. Create Goals: List the clear objectives needed to achieve your vision. Ask yourself: what do I need to start doing, stop doing, and continue doing over the coming year to get closer to my ideal vision? Write out at least 5 Key Objectives that you want to achieve by 2028.

3. Create a Plan: Looking at your 5 Key Objectives, write the action steps you need to take in the next six months to move the ball down the field. Be sure to write a completion date next to each action step. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down, and you increase the likelihood even more when you add a due date!

4. Do a Mind Check: List all the self-limiting beliefs or behavioral patterns that tend to hold you back from achieving your goals or taking risks. Rewrite those beliefs and habits into healthy statements and actions that you can repeat daily to break the cycle of inaction and fear.

5. Share Your Goals: We all need someone else to hold us accountable. Left to our own devices, we will return to our comfort zone where we feel less risk. When we share our hopes, dreams, and goals with others, we are more likely to achieve them, and it’s always nice to have someone else cheering us on!

From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that keep someone from pushing out of their comfort zone?

The number one reason people stay in the comfortable is the fear of failure. They fear that making that move, creating a change, or pursuing that dream will be a mistake. They fear they will be seen by others or even by themselves as inferior if they fail. Those fears can be paralyzing. Most people don’t like to admit that they are suffering from a fear of failure but saying it out loud is freeing and helps us face it head-on. I help my clients tackle their worries by not only putting them in a more truthful reality but to also considering what is at risk if they don’t go for it. Failure is normal, but so is success. As Wayne Gretzky said, “We miss 100% of the shots we don’t take.” I like for my clients to articulate what staying comfortable will cost them.

There is a well-known quote attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt that says, “Do something that scares you every day”. What exactly does this mean to you? Is there inherent value in doing something that pushes you out of your comfort zone, even if it does not relate to personal or professional growth? For example, if one is uncomfortable about walking alone at night should they purposely push themselves to do it often for the sake of going beyond their comfort zone? Can you please explain what you mean?

I am more familiar with Eleanor Roosevelt’s quote, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt was a social activist, and I am sure, given her position, had to step out of her comfort zone often to further her agenda. Her words inspired many others to push through the fear and keep marching for the causes to better our country. I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that we gain courage and strength from looking fear in the face. It’s not brave if you aren’t scared. Doing brave things grows our confidence and takes us to new heights.

As a woman who lived in downtown Chicago for 25 years, I strongly advocate for “street smarts.” I never take risks that could potentially harm me physically or mentally. I believe in looking both ways before you cross the street in all ways, whether that be literally or figuratively such as when in a relationship that is showing red flags, a job that is sucking the life out of us, or a health issue that doesn’t seem right. Pay attention, be intentional, and don’t go it alone.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

I would love everyone to be inspired to live a life in pursuit of significance rather than just success. It can be achieved if people take the time to articulate their unique talents and purpose and then live those out every day for the greater good. I want the legacy of my life to be not just a history of me but the history of the mission of me. When we shift our focus from success for the sake of our individual glory to significance for the sake of others, we can find meaningful work that brings ultimate contentment.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

I’d love to have lunch with Brene Brown. I have my Master’s of Psychology yet spent most of my career in corporate America. I’d love to talk with her about that intersection. Dare to Lead is one of my favorite books, and I enjoy how she pushes leaders to lean into vulnerability. It’s not a leadership quality you come by very often. I also love her sense of humor, so I think we’d have a lot of fun!

How can our readers follow you online?

You can learn more about me at www.tracischubertbarrett.com or Follow me on Instagram @tracisbarrett or LinkedIn.

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!