Increase your Success... By Embracing your Discomfort

We all have our favourite pair of jeans. They are likely a little worn in spots, have that stain on the knee from that amazing catch you made in a pick up game with friends...but you love them in spite of, if not because of, it all. In short, they're your favourites because they are comfortable, they fit just right.

 When those jeans no longer are as comfortable for us to wear though, we are spurred to take action. Perhaps those worn areas have finally given way, in less than strategically placed locations! If so, we are pushed toward buying a new pair and beginning the process of breaking them in to rediscover our comfort zone. Perhaps those jeans are beginning to feel a little too snug and we are motivated to cut down a little on the lattes and late night snacking to refind our comfort point again.

 In either event, it is our discomfort that spurs us to take action. As long as we are comfortable with where we are, who we are, what we have...we tend to drift along, becoming complacent with our achievements to date. However, if we want more or other for ourselves, we need to become uncomfortable. It is our dissatisfaction that drives change and creates growth.

 The thought for this blog came to me when I was reading a line from one of Kevin Hogan's (http://www.kevinhogan.com/) articles, in which he said...

 Where things go wrong is at the intersection of you and your discomfort

The point he was making is that at every point of discomfort, we have a choice to make. We can either choose to ignore the discomfort and slip back into the cocoon of our comfort zone, or we can choose to push through our discomfort, to use it to grow beyond where we once were. Our discomfort therefore represents a pivotal moment of choice for us and it's important that we recognise it as such.

 If we leave such choices to our unconscious, we are likely to choose the known over the unknown, the comfortable over the uncomfortable, the old over the new...every time! If we give in to the lure of the comfortable though, we will fail to experience all of the success we are capable of.  We are unlikely to ever fulfill our potential.

The Work:

 Consider an area of your life that you are uncomfortable with, something that is 'less than' what you want for yourself. Take a few moments to really explore (and record) how you feel about this lack. The stronger your discomfort, the more you will be able to use this discomfort and dissatisfaction to push you forward, so really get in touch with how you feel about this area.

 Now jot down exactly what you want instead. Fill in as much detail as you can about it. The clearer you are about what your 'different' will look like, the easier it will be for you to define action steps to take you there.

 And...that becomes step three. Create a list of action steps that you could take to move you away from your current state and move toward your desired state. Large, small...it doesn't matter, list any and all actions that would help make what you want a reality.

 Do one. Now. This is your pivotal moment. All of the thinking and planning mean nothing without action. Even one small, seemingly inconsequential step helps to shift your mindset away from 'comfort' and establishes the change mindset. You are more likely to continue down the path of change once you have put even one foot in that direction.

 Do another one! Repeat this step over and over until you are done! There is no Magic formula in achieving what you want in life. It take three simple little things.

•  You must be able to articulate what you want.
•  You must take steps toward achieving it.
•  You must keep going until you have it.

That's it. Now...get to it!