People often look for the quick fix or the easy way to attain what they want. Unfortunately, our society has become a microwave society in that it wants everything done instantly and with little effort. This is not a recipe you will want to follow if you hope to achieve anything of significance. The most tried and true way to from where you are, to where you want to go, is by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to learn to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. That is where growth happens. If you want to reach your goals in life, your success will ultimately depend on your ability to persevere and push through difficult situations and obstacles that bring about different types of discomfort, whether it be physical, stress, exhaustion, or friction. By enduring this, your body, mindset, attitude, and soul will adjust and learn to endure even more. Thus, allowing you to grow.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable!
A great example of this is lifting weights. If my desire is to get stronger, I can’t just lift the exact muscles and exercises every time. If I did it that way, I would eventually hit a plateau. What I need is to push myself a little bit past what is already comfortable. A little bit heavier weight, a few extra reps, or a slightly longer workout will allow me to get out of my comfort zone which, in turn, will allow me to develop further. Then, the next day, make it just a bit more difficult. As time goes on, my body will continue to adjust and grow.
The same goes for you, if want to grow your knowledge base in a subject. You can’t simply read a “five-step quick fix” book and learn everything you need to know about that subject. To truly become knowledgeable, it takes time and effort. It takes reading multiple books, talking to experts, listening to lectures, reading articles, and much more.
Now that you are ready to push yourself, you will want to be careful. There is a point where you can push too far out of your comfort zone and have to deal with the risk of fatigue, burn out, or injury. It’s great to have a desire and drive to reach a goal, but it is also equally important to let the mind and body rest and recover when needed. Small steps over time can make great things happen! Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, meaningful goals take time.
Hopefully, this will help give you a little motivation to keep pushing forward and pursuing your goals. Remember: if you want to grow, you must push yourself past the point of comfort and to the point of feeling challenged. And as long as we are here, we might as well try something great!
As always,
Enjoy the journey!