Are you (sometimes) uncomfortable? Excellent!

Here’s why you’ll be more successful then your ‘comfortable’ peers

A lot of people – especially coaches - give you the advice, “Get out of your comfort zone!”

But what I don’t see is them taking their own advice.

Why don’t they do it?

Well, it’s erhhh … it’s uncomfortable. Being uncomfortable is uncomfortable.

We’re often uncomfortable when we’re at the boundaries of our experience.

That’s the benefit of being uncomfortable – it teaches you to expand those boundaries.

The next time you won’t be so uncomfortable. Better still – next time you’ll have more options rather than fewer.

Let me illustrate.

Recently I shot a series of videos “Fundamentals of Leading a Hybrid Team” (Message me if you’d like access).

It was really uncomfortable.

It was uncomfortable see myself on camera.  I didn’t like the way I looked.  I hated that I stumbled over my words.

It was uncomfortable to shoot. I didn’t know how to capture a good shot. Or get the sound. Don’t even start me on the light! I had to do multiple takes.

It was uncomfortable to prepare the video for upload.  I didn’t know how to edit a video.  In fact I was so uncomfortable it took me 18 months to shoot nine videos of less than 30 minutes.

Now it’s much quicker.  Now I prepare 30 minutes of video learning materials for a client - topics decided, videos scripted and shot, edited graphics - in about a week (and at 1/3rd of the price it would take them to do it).

I feel much more confident on camera and even speak better.

My boundary around this new skill has expanded - I have more choices now.

Previously I could not shoot a video if I wanted to - now I can.

You know when your boundaries are expanding - when you’re becoming more efficacious - when it feels uncomfortable.

What’s a recent time you felt uncomfortable and went ahead anyway?  What did you learn? Popp me a comment below,

Book yourself a place on my “Courage with judgment” program – how to advance your career by taking smart risks.

(PS: If you want to really get the sense of that - have a cold shower (but that is a whole other story)).