Next New Zealand – September 2019

Are y in a

‘CIRCLING’CREATES

CONNECTION AND

EXPANDS PEOPLE’S

CAPACITYTO

TOLERATE MORE.

studieshaveshowndiscomfortcanbea stimulus for

growth.“It’stheideaofhealthystress,”shesays.

Indeed,backincirclinghell,thereareapparently

plentyofbenetsinexperiencing“thediscomfort

thatcomeswithfeelingunmasked”,saysSaraNess,

theTexas-based founderofAuthentic Revolution,

whichrunscirclingsessionsaroundtheworld for,

amongothers,SiliconValleyentrepreneurs,lawyers

and artists. Circling, she claims, enhances self-

awareness,createsconnectionandexpandspeople’s

capacity to tolerate more. What doesn’t kill

you,people.

Ofcourse,the valueofthe‘discomfort zone’ is

hardlya recentdiscovery,as anyonewhohasamassed

a Rolodexofcareer-progressing contactsfrom an

awkward networking evening will attest. What is

new,however,saysKathryn,areourunprecedented

levels of “mental and physical cocooning”. »

Wouldyouchoosetospendyourhard-earnedspare

time sittingin a circlewith a groupof strangers

gatheredtotellyouexactlywhattheythinkofyou?It

mightbeasinnocuousas,“Actually,you’vegota bit

ofa restingbitchface”ortaketheformofa roundof

“Idon’tlikeyou”and“Idon’tlikeyou,either”.This

is ‘circling’, in which people share their honest

perceptions of each other – and the franker,

t hebetter.

Whyonearthwouldyouendurethat,youmaywell

ask.Afterall,isn’tthistheageofself-care,andif

you’dratherspendtheeveningwithNetix,a nice

red and Uber Eats, you should, right? Wrong,

accordingtotrendforecastingagencyTheFuture

Laboratory,which,ina recentbrienghighlighted

the conceptof‘positivediscomfort’. Theagency’s

deputyforesighteditorKathrynBishopdescribesit

asthe“reframingofthatuncomfortablefeelingas

somethingthat’s good forus”,adding thatrecent

C OM FORT

TRAP?

Are self-care, safe spaces and box-set binges

turning us all into ‘snowflakes’? Perhaps it’s

time to embrace the new trend for positive

discomfort, says Fleur Britten

LIFE HACK

40 NEXT / SEPTEMBER 2019