Why you need to think differently about discomfort

Why you need to think differently about discomfortWhy you need to think differently about discomfortTimid souls play it safe. They dont rock the boat. They avoid risks. Steady as she goes. Fly under the radar. All very pragmatic.Illustrations by John. P Weiss.But thats not living. Thats just getting by.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreTeddy Roosevelt expressed this eloquently in his Citizenship in a Republic speechIt is not the critic who counts not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood who strives valiantly who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming but who does actually strive to do the deeds who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions who s pends himself in a worthy cause who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.Have you been daring greatly lately? Are you spending yourself in a worthy cause? Or, have you been living more like those timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat?If the answers to the above questions are, No, no and yes, then I suspect youre not alone.Why? Because none of us enjoy discomfort.Twirling around with sugar plumfairiesA few years ago, when I welches still serving as Chief of Police in my community, theDistrict Attorneycalled to ask a favor.A local production company liked to use government officials as celebrity extras for their annual Nutcracker performance.The District Attorney and County Treasurer participated in past Nutcracker performances, but the County Treasurer was unavailable to perform again.It was decided that one of the county police chiefs would make a good stand-in for the County Treasurer.The District Attorney and County Treasurer participated in past Nutcracker performances, but the County Treasurer was unavailable to perform again.It was decided that one of the county police chiefs would make a good stand in for the County Treasurer.The District Attorney knew I was a creative guy who liked to write and paint. He saw me as one of the more artistic police chiefs in the county. He figured Id enjoy the chance to perform in the Nutcracker.He figured wrong.For starters, I cant dance to save my life. The prospect of dressing up in some ridiculous outfit and twirling around with Sugar Plum Fairies didnt thrill me.Not to mention, the cops I worked with would have a field day teasing me.Your bucketlistI searched for excuses. Especially after I learned there would be months of rehearsals at a local ballet company. But then the District Attorney said thisThink about it , John. Its something to check off your bucket list. It would be great if you could help usout.Defeated, I gave in. Performing in a two act ballet to the music of Tchaikovsky, in front of hundreds of people, had not been on my bucket list. Yet, something told me to do it anyway. To step outside my comfort zone.Margie Warrell,the author of the bookStop Playing Safe,wrote an article in Forbes magazine entitledWhy Getting Comfortable With Discomfort is Crucial to Success.Heres an excerptOnly in giving up the security of the known, can we create new opportunity, build capability and grow influence.When we do hard things, we grow. When we fail, we grow. When we strive to be braver in our lives, fear loosens its hold on us.Most of the breakthroughs in my life happened after I stepped outside my comfort zone. I know that sounds like a cheap self help slogan, but its true.Despite my fear of flying, I got on a plane and flew to Idaho. Because I wanted to study landscape painting with a maste r artist. That decision changed my life and artistic trajectory.Later on, I took multiple connecting flights in buchung to study writing with a successful author in Franklin, Tennessee.I felt discomfort on those flights. They were bumpy, and my mind played all kinds of disaster scenarios over and over.But man, did I learn a great deal about writing on that trip.Those things thathurtThere were other ventures I risked trying, only to fail at. The failure hurt. But as Benjamin Franklin wroteThose things that hurt, instruct.The failures corrected my course. They helped lead me closer to my true self.You need to embrace discomfort if you want to grow. As the old saying goesDo what youve always done, get what youve alwaysgot.Not that you should be reckless. Thats why its called calculated risks. One needs to weigh all the available facts, including the potential benefits versus consequences. In the end, sometimes you just have to dive in.Heres the other thing. People dont really care that much. A public failure may be agonizing to you, but its a brief amusement to others.People are largely interested in themselves. Their own lives and pursuits. We tend to exaggerate the interest others have in our efforts, successes, and failures.The disinterest of others actually frees us. We can experiment, explore and sometimes stumble. In the process, we become more impervious to failure. Less fragile.Thats where growth happens.Through the months of Nutcracker rehearsals, there were days I regretted the whole venture. The rehearsals stole time from my personal pursuits, but I soldiered on.Applause and curtainsOn opening night the District Attorney and I donned our silly outfits. We even helped with each others stage makeup. The curtains went up, we hit the stage and performed to the best of our ability.The professional dancers were amazing. The crowd applauded and roared with approval. Afterward, backstage, there were flowers and champagne. The District Attorney smiled at me and said, See, I told you. Something to check off your bucket listA few years later that same District Attorney was struck with an aggressive cancer. He fought bravely and with dignity. But too soon, at 57 years of age, he left the stage of life.The funeral was something to behold. There were police officers, firefighters, motorcades, flags, judges and even the Attorney General for the State of California.As the speakers celebrated this good mans life, I was reminiscing about our night at the Nutcracker. The laughs we had and memories made.Thank God I stepped outside my comfort zone.So how about you? Are you ready to think differently about discomfort? Are you prepared to find out what youre made of? Are you ready to be braver?Learning to embrace discomfort is the only way to step outside yourself and grow. Sometimes youll stumble and fail.But by God, when you succeed, the rewards stay with you forever.ImJohn P. Weiss.Fine artist and writer. Thanks for reading.This article first appea red on Medium.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people