Taking yourself out of your comfort zone: Matt’s story 

Taking yourself out of your comfort zone and trying new things can be scary, but River Training suggests that by doing so it can help enhance your self-confidence and resilience, improve your ability to handle challenges and setbacks, and can give you both personal and professional growth opportunities.

Matt, our Senior Developer Lead has done just this, by embarking on a two week long sailing challenge with three of his friends, to raise money for BaseKit’s charity of the year, Caring in Bristol.

Speaking to Matt, he and his team learnt a lot throughout their challenge, and as he explains, the lessons he learned can be used in day-to-day life… not just when it comes to sailing a boat!

“Have a plan A, B and C. Then be prepared to throw them all in the bin and improvise.”

The original plan for the challenge was to circumnavigate Britain. However, the team had to change their plans numerous times, they ended up sailing from London, through the English channel, circumnavigating Guernsey and then making their way back to Ramsgate.

Even though plans changed, it still took a lot of resilience to stay focused, and shows that even when you do have a plan, you can’t control everything and it may not always go the way you want.

“Test, maintain and then trust your tools and processes.”

A lot of resilience was also needed when Matt and the team had to endure 12 hours of dense fog, having to rely heavily on the radar systems of the boat to navigate the English channel. This required not only trusting the boat, but also each other. Trusting people can be scary, but can reap rewards over time, and in this case, coming out of the other side of the fog, knowing they had made it safely together working as a team further built their relationship.

Matt explains “Whilst enduring dense fog with only the sounds of passing cargo ship fog horns, you really have to rely on your system, as well as your team around you. Knowing we had tested the radar, and we had all the tools we needed gave me peace of mind, but it puts into perspective how hard the English Channel can be to navigate, and makes you really think of the difficulties some people endure whilst traversing this body of water.”

“Take calculated risks.”

As with any new challenge, you can be taking a risk physically or mentally, and it can be daunting. But it also promotes creativity, and requires innovative thinking and problem-solving.

By facing uncertainty, it can help you develop a stronger mindset, better decision-making skills, and greater self-assurance. Matt and the team definitely found themselves in this position, and through taking risks, they reaped the rewards, experiencing a trip of a lifetime.

“Try new things when the moment arises, and look after your mates.”

If Matt and his team didn’t take the risk to even venture out on this challenge, then they wouldn’t have had the chance to experience new things, and have the opportunity to grow. New experiences often lead to social connections, improving emotional well-being and fostering a sense of belonging, and as a team, it’s clear that this trip did just that.

Matt says “Heading out on this trip I said I would be open to trying anything (even though I definitely regret trying an oyster), and I did just this, by learning new skills and spending time with the team in such close quarters makes you appreciate things about yourself and sharing experiences really helps you build better relationships.”

“Put your phone down.”

Another way to build better relationships is by being present and putting your phone down. Matt explains that the threat of your phone going overboard was enough for everyone to put their phone away (after one of the team lost their phone within 2 hours). It also made everyone focus on the present and disconnect from the outside world to focus.

Putting your phone down encourages mindfulness, reduces anxiety and can improve your overall mental health, and being out on the open water really helped Matt take time away to reconnect and give time for more self-reflection.

We are super proud of Matt and his friends for taking on this challenge, and are grateful they chose to raise money for our chosen charity, Caring in Bristol. There is still time to donate, and you can do so by following this link > https://www.justgiving.com/page/britainsail 

Read more about what your donation will do to help Caring in Bristol 

Here at BaseKit we also strive to ensure the mental health of our team is a priority,  read about our Mental Health Promise.