The Best Thing for Your Productivity? Get Uncomfortable.
I moved to Virginia Beach, a city where I don’t know a soul besides my boyfriend and his mother.
Under normal life circumstances, I would never pick this city as a destination I desired to call home. But it’s 2020, so hellooooo new normal.
A decade ago, I moved to Los Angeles for my career in the entertainment industry. I swore I would never leave, I was wildly determined to “make it” in LA. I told my family they’d have to cart me off in a straight jacket to get me over state lines.
Flash forward to October 1st of this year, I shipped my belongings across the country and my ass willingly walked onto a plane
My career has never been better. And it’s not because I’m some badass. It’s because I’m so damn uncomfortable.
I have tossed everything in my life that made me feel safe out the window. The place I called “home” for the last decade is gone. The “normal” of my life doesn’t exist anymore.
My perspective has completely shifted. The mental barriers I had set on what I thought to be true in life have dissipated. What I believe I’m capable of has expanded and the possibilities in my life seem more limitless.
We avoid getting uncomfortable because… it’s not sexy or fun. It’s coupled with a lot of emotions, soul searching and change.
Humans resist change, yet change is the only thing that’s certain in life besides dying.
We try to create as much routine as possible and fill our schedule up with plans to predict what is going to happen. If we know what’s going to happen, we can expect how we’re going to feel, and we can try to avoid pain at all costs.
When trying to be more productive, you take on the challenging task of looking at yourself in the mirror. And being honest as fuck with yourself about where you’re at in life and with your goals.
It’s more “comfortable” to keep using the same tactics towards your goals, hanging out with the same people, going through the same routine of life. And then sitting in the “woe is me” victim club complaining about how hard you’re working and still not achieving any results. Instead of analyzing what’s working, what needs to change, and then shaking up your life.
Forcing yourself to get fucking uncomfortable and changing how you’re working towards your dreams.
Look at your life. What routines are you so ingrained in? Are they serving you? Or do you feel like a newborn baby that’s swaddled into an infant burrito, feeling all snug and safe?
It’s time to bust out of that blanket baby and climb some mountains.
“Breaking your own mold can only make you stronger and more confident to reach higher levels in your professional and personal life.”
— Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, Author of Better Than Perfect
The old limits I had put in place for myself got annihilated.
Which means the possibilities for what I know I can achieve in my career are different too. My entire life is way more expansive.
Now instead of thinking Los Angeles is the only playground for making moves and making things happen…. The world is my playground. I’m never confined to a city providing me with a career, only I can provide myself with the career and life that I want.
I used to think I would be a writer and an actress. Now I’m a business owner and entrepreneur.
I’m way more ballsy when I make day-to-day decisions.
When you get uncomfortable, your confidence will soar. You’ll see how resilient you are.
There are certain aspects of your life you need to change to reach your desired level of success. The thought of changing them scares the fuck out of you. But by taking the leap, you’ll feel confident that you not only survived the changes, you thrived because of them.
You’ll feel braver and will continue making bold changes, which will allow you to do more great shit. And then when you’re hit in the face with something uncomfortable, you’re resilient to it. You know how to channel it and move forward.
Discomfort is a catalyst for growth. It makes you yearn for something more. It forces you to change, stretch, and adapt.
It’s hard to sit with yourself and feel uncomfortable.
You cross your fingers and hope you made the right choices to stretch yourself. But you yearn to go back to the safe, comfortable baby burrito feeling life was before…. So you search. Within yourself and the world around you.
You discover there was more there than you realized. You start learning more; you adapt differently to your space and yourself. You naturally start growing. What you believe you’re capable of achieving grows.
If you’re sitting there unsatisfied with where you are in life, you feel complacent and don’t know what to change…. force yourself to get uncomfortable. The way you’re able to vision your life will get beautifully busted open.
You will start reaching for new opportunities. You’ll begin cultivating a different conversation with yourself about what actions are necessary for you to take.
The secret to success lies in the very thing you’re avoiding. Those things that seem to break you down and humble your spirit.
Look yourself in the damn mirror and evaluate what the heck is going on in your life.
That thing you’re scared of, that thing you’re avoiding… that’s the big pile of shit you need to dig through.
If you’ve been slaving away for months or years, and you still feel epically far from your goal, something’s not working. Many things probably aren’t working.
I’m not trying to be an asshole, but it’s true.
It’s impossible to pursue something for years on end, be totally miserable and discontent, and some of it not be your fault and your doing.
Challenge that fear that’s keeping you complacent. It’s trying to keep you from pain. But you’re already in pain from being stuck in your situation. You need to ask yourself which pain is more worth it for you to endure.
Conclusion
Jerry Dunn once said, “Don’t limit your challenges; challenge your limits.”
It’s not about throwing the entire kitchen sink of uncomfortability at your life.
You don’t have to move across the country to get your shit together like I did.
Mentally inquire about the changes you need to make. Take a few small things, shake it up and see how you feel.
Withstand the pain, challenge yourself to be resilient, and see your productivity levels rise. Get uncomfortable to get the results you want in your life.
For more inspiration…
As always, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind, what’s on your heart, and what uncomfortable thing you know you need to go through. Hit me up at [email protected] or reach out to me through my website, www.yougotyou.co.