If you want to be an entrepreneur, or if you already class yourself as one, you’ll probably know that staying in your comfort zone is pretty pointless. An entrepreneur – aspiring or established – needs to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. I was reading something the other day that said exactly this, and it intrigued me, so I decided to write this blog post to explore the idea further.
But what does being comfortable with being uncomfortable actually mean? Well, it means pushing boundaries and doing things that are either brand new to you, or things that scare you. It means challenging yourself, and taking things on that you don’t know how to do, or even things that just aren’t your forte.
In my case, things like networking are most definitely out of my comfort zone, and Chloe’s dream of being on TV frankly terrifies me! But then we are lucky – most things that are outside of my comfort zone are right in the middle of hers, and vice versa!
But the thing is – when you’re an entrepreneur, and especially when your business is just yourself, you don’t have a choice. You have to push yourself, and challenge yourself to do things that you find difficult. You have to get out of your comfort zone.
So how do you get comfortable with being uncomfortable?
If you’re anything like me, you might feel comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable, but you might find actually being uncomfortable, something more of a challenge. I’m fully aware, and accept, that being a business owner means stepping out of my comfort zone, and if I don’t, I risk missing opportunities, and my business will suffer. So I work hard at becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. And this is, and probably always will be, a work in progress.
So what have I learned so far?
Well, I think there are a number of things:
Find your inspiration. I’m not talking influencers here, or celebrities, or people who you have put on any sort of pedestal. Choose someone close to you. Someone who you see regularly that you can observe and learn from. Someone who emulates the behaviours that you aspire to, and who can support you to achieve them.
Break down your goals. We talk about this a lot in our approach to goal-setting, and I definitely practise what we preach. If you’re gearing up to do something that makes you uncomfortable, build up to it, rather than dive straight in.
Don’t put yourself under too much pressure. It’s ok if things don’t go quite to plan the first time. It’s ok to make mistakes, particularly if you’re attempting something you’ve never done before. The key is to make sure you learn from your experiences. And then when you apply what you’ve learned next time round, you will do better.
Be brave and take a risk. This is a simple one really. If you don’t decide to try, how will you know what you’re missing? And you might even be far more comfortable with something than you think!
So what’s stopping you? Take a chance. Start working towards being comfortable with being uncomfortable. Join me on my journey to doing exactly that, and let me know what you learn along the way!
(And for those considering taking our 12 month programme, our Confidence module will provide you with even more tools to help you move forward).
Step out of your comfort zone. Comfort zones, where your unrealized dreams are buried, are the enemies of achievement.
Roy T. Bennett