Make Yourself Uncomfortable, Everyday

What are some of your greatest life accomplishments? Think about it for a minute. What goals are you trying to achieve in your life right now?

Guaranteed, you did not achieve/ will not achieve those things without stepping out of your comfort zone.

In order to achieve positive change in your life you have to make yourself uncomfortable.

“Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” – Brian Tracy

It sounds so simple right? But it can be so hard to do. Some people will take years to step out of their comfort zones to accomplish a goal. It can be difficult to face the risks and pain of discomfort; to step into an unknown. However, you can make a conscious decision to make yourself uncomfortable each and every day, which will lead you to positive change.

Right now, I can relate this advice to my marathon training. Each weekend, I have to push myself to run further than I have before at any point in my life. Yesterday I did 26K. My legs were burning, and I was wet, cold and dizzy. I wanted to quit, but I kept going. I finished the run, and now my legs and cardiovascular system are stronger and ready for a further distance next week. I needed to go through that period of discomfort to improve my fitness. But, the key is not just to endure, but to embrace the discomfort. The discomfort is your friend! When I reach that point where my legs get wobbly, I love it, because I know I’m making progress, and that motivates me to keep pushing.

“Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort.” – Peter McWilliams

The discomfort can be physical or emotional, but like anything, practice makes perfect. Here’s a few ways you can step out of your comfort zone:

1)      Take a new route to work
2)      Make that awkward phone call you’ve been putting off
3)      Start a conversation with a stranger
4)      Try a different type of food
5)      Listen to a new genre of music
6)      Sign up for a new course/class. Something you wouldn’t normally do (yoga, swimming, photography, anything)

The idea here is to break the pattern, the everyday routine. This will work to keep your mind alert and sharp, and away from that pattern where everyday is SOS (Same Old Shit). If you can, try to do something ‘uncomfortable’ everyday.

Don’t be afraid to fail, because you inevitably will sometimes. Risk of failure is what causes us to be uncomfortable (or the risk of looking foolish, or something along those lines). So, before you set out on your new task, accept the fact you might fail. Just be ready to shrug it off and try again. Again, embrace the discomfort.

You can even make it a challenge. What are you afraid of? Heights, spiders, pubic speaking, water? Pick a fear and challenge yourself. Take a small step toward conquering that fear. This doesn’t mean you have to go bungee jumping to conquer your fear of heights, but maybe you climb up 3 rungs of a ladder, to the point where you feel uncomfortable. Then tomorrow, do 4 rungs. Tackling a fear is the surest way to make yourself uncomfortable, even if you don’t ultimately ‘conquer’ it.

My girlfriend recently did this when she left a long-time job, without having a new job secure, during one of the worst global recessions in history! If that’s not stepping out of your comfort zone, I don’t know what is. Today, she has a great new job, and has done a lot of discovery on figuring out her long-term career goals.

Whatever you do, just step outside that comfort zone and accomplish what you want. Then you will be left with the fulfillment of your achievements, and all the discomfort and pain will be forgotten.

“90% to 95% of people will withdraw to the comfort zone when what they try doesn’t work. Only that small percentage, 5 or 10 percent, will continually raise the bar on themselves; they will push themselves out into the zone of discomfort, and these are always the highest performers in every field.” – Brian Tracy

So, what have you done lately to step out of your comfort zone?