Chasing Discomfort
This blog post I’m going to write about today is something I want to have more of. I want to be chasing discomfort and understanding why it’s important for growth.
The world we live in today is getting more and more comfortable compared if you looked back 200 years ago.
Life has never been easier. You want food, we just go to the Supermarket or if we want to wash our clothes we just use the washing machine.
We don’t have to hunt any more and we definitely don’t have to wash our clothes by hand. Of course around the world, not everyone is living in comfort but on the whole, especially in the western world, we are for sure.
Looking Back On Past Experiences
When we look back on our own life, of course, we see the challenges and the hurdles we have faced. When I looked deeper and analysed my past it just shows me how comfortable a lot of my life has been.
In the short term, comfortability feels great like a warm shower or comfy bed to snuggle into. In the long term is the habit of being comfortable making us happy or is it creating amazing moments.
When we feel comfortable that’s a sign that we are safe and that was important thousands of years ago to know when we should rest the body and mind. When it comes to a fulfilling life it just doesn’t cut it.
Prime examples in my life of when being comfortable held me back were when I worked in sales and marketing. Before I joined the company I thought tooth and nail to get it.
Within my first weeks, I was engaged and was learning at a rapid rate. Then when I applied all the information I became great at it.
Then the learning stopped, I knew everyone and everything and it became autopilot and that’s when I stopped progressing and as the months went on, I was on the decline and I didn’t know why.
Reflecting Why Being Comfortable Can Hold You Back
On reflection, it was down to finding my comfortability zone. This zone doesn’t want you to learn, meet new people or push yourself for the next challenge, it just wants you to stay where you are, and that’s safe.
I have countless experiences where being comfortable has held me back and I’m sure you have to. How frustrating is it when you look back and you didn’t say yes to something that would have been life-changing or just an amazing experience.
It came to point in my life at 30 where this can no longer go on. This can not be my norm for the rest of my life. Especially after seeing it make people miserable with their choices and actions as they have got older.
So I have challenged my self to chase discomfort on a regular basis. Is it going to be difficult? HELL YES! Everything inside you is going to say “no don’t do it just be comfortable”. That’s when we have to consciously take over and say “YES LETS JUST DO IT”
Some things I have challenged myself do are,
- Create a YouTube channel and post weekly
- Post pictures of myself and my story on social media
- Do Yoga every day for 30 days
- Climb the 3 peaks of the United Kingdom
All 4 definitely make me feel out of my comfort zone. So I challenge you to find 4 things for the next 30 days, that you can overcome your fear or doubt of by taking action and chasing discomfort.
Hang Around The Right People
Within your life, you will have many different challenges you have to overcome. Make sure you tap into that. It will give you the confidence to know you can do it again.
Plus having people around you who motivate and hold you accountable is important for your ability to persevere in the challenge.
Of course when you start telling people what you’re going to do. You’re going to find two types of people. The ones that will say “This is an amazing idea, I’ve always wanted to this too, your so brave” and you have someone else say “You are crazy, it’s never going to work”
Please do not listen to the latter because they are just giving you their own insecurity on how they think they can’t do it. Trust me you definitely can, we are designed to overcome challenges. It’s all in the mind.
Track Your Progress
When you start your challenges make sure you have a journal or a wall chart to track your progress.
Digesting your progress is so valuable to unlocking your accomplishments. It allows you to see where you need to improve. You can either do this by writing it down or videoing yourself. Plus one day someone may need help with overcoming the challenge your facing.
Some challenges need a visual aid to show your progress. For instance, doing the 30-day mile club where on the first of the month you run 1 mile. Then increase it a mile each day.
Tracking your progress not only shows what you have achieved. It shows the vision of how you’re going to achieve the task which both are motivational.
Find A Mentor
When starting any challenge you know it’s going have a lot more downs than ups. That’s why it can be important to have a mentor. They can either guide you or motivate you towards your goals.
You can find these mentors anywhere. You can watch them on Youtube and see how they broke through the barriers of their journey or you could hire one.
On any journey whether your an athlete or starting a business. Having a mentor helps you get to your endpoint faster rather than you having to go the long way around.
As painful and fun that might be, it’s not the smartest route you can take.
To Conclude
I hope this gives you greater insight into chasing discomfort and why it’s important for growth. Also why it’s important to apply it in your daily life.
Since I have been conscious of this I have become more confident, daring and adventurous because of it. It’s still a journey I’m on but one that’s so rewarding.
Imagine living a life where you don’t fear anything because you have overcome them all. That’s a life worth living and one where anything is possible.
So make a list of what discomforts you want to overcome. Then comment them below and where we can track your progress. Maybe one day we can do them together.
FUTURE MINDSET
At Future Mindset, we are here to push the boundaries of our thoughts and actions. By chasing discomfort in our lives, it can lead us to unlock things inside us we never knew was there. Let’s change our mindset to change our future.
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Thank you so much for your support and would love to discuss any comments on this post and if you have any suggestions on future posts I’m more than happy to research and deliver that for you.
Chase discomfort and have a great day wherever you are!