I first heard the term getting comfortable with being uncomfortable about 4 years ago from my friend Tina Forsyth….
In order to achieve bigger goals or implement new ideas, its essential to push oneself out of our comfort zone.
Me, you or anyone who wants to grow themselves both personally and/or professionally.
Success is awarded to those of us who aren’t afraid to do the hard work, to do what feels uncomfortable at times.
Honestly… I can say from personal experience that true growth pretty much requires a constant state of being uncomfortable.
And the good news is that I’ve found it much easier to be uncomfortable when I break it down into smaller bite sized chunks.
Here’s 5 ways to get comfortable with being uncomfortable:
Step 1: Do what you resist.
Try breaking what ever it is into bite size pieces, it works! And pick the path of least resistance when give the choice of what to do and start there.
Step 2: Push past hard.
When you hit the wall or fail…keep going. Especially when you want to just give up and back off. I’ve found that taking some time away from the task at hand often gives me a new perspective or another way to work through that wall.
Step 3: Go for failure.
Have something you’ve been working on and not succeeding? Keep looking for answers, push yourself past what you think you can do. In other words…don’t give up. Instead look for others who have done what you want to do for inspiration, for tips to achieve that one thing you’re looking to do. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hit the wall on a few of my goals that I’m now achieving, found a new person who showed me the way.
Step 4: Suck it up.
Success is hard, I know. There are many people who just aren’t willing to push themselves hard enough to do what feels uncomfortable and then there are those of us who risk making mistakes and keep working to get incrementally better until we master whatever it is we want to do.
Step 5: Super size your goals.
Now I am not telling you to set outlandish un achievable goals…but do set goals that are out of your current comfort zone. Not all of them but at least 1 or 2 of them and then break them down and start working on smaller tasks that will get you there.
Look for support, for others who have done it. Use them for guidance and inspiration.
You’ll grow into your super sized goals especially if you apply steps 1-4.
It’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable!
