JUST ONE THING
Escape the Comfort Trap
Episode 176
With Rick White, 180BIZ
This episode is about comfort and more specifically the comfort zone. People are more committed to a familiar discomfort than they are to an unfamiliar possibility. The comfort zone really doesn't mean we're comfortable. It doesn't mean we're sitting in the lounge chair and sipping a Mai Tai somewhere. That's not the comfort zone. What I'm talking about is the familiar zone. The familiar zone is the stuck zone. Why are you stuck in the familiar zone? Because even if you don't like it you know can handle it. You know you can handle the uncomfortable, the discomfort that you're familiar with. You know how to deal with it. You have the mindset, you have the skillset, and you have the toolset to take care of it. You know you can handle it.
Your familiar zone is where your dreams go to die. Your familiar zone is where you kill potential. Your familiar zone is what keeps you thinking smaller, dreaming smaller, living, smaller, complaining, and then dying with regret. And regret is not a bad thing. Regret is a powerful emotion. I believe that the creator gave us regret so that we would correct our behaviors. When you think about stepping out of that box into the unknown, the questions you ask are: Can I, am I smart enough? Am I good enough? Will I survive it? What if I fail? What if I do this and fail? We “what if” ourselves to death.
Ben Franklin was quoted once as saying, “Most men die at 25. We just don't bury them until they're 70. This is not what we're living for. A ship is designed to find new continents. But it will never happen if the ship never leaves the shore.
This is big and scary, and it stops you from moving forward. So I'm going to give you something to think about. Living a sucky life is normal, living a sucky life or one that's unfulfilling is not a possibility. So here's what I’ll tell you.
1. Want Something Better: I want you to dream. I want you to think about something you want to make better. It could be in a personal relationship. It could be your health. It could be business. I want you to think about the one area. Every one of us is in a comfortable and familiar discomfort right now. So the first thing is to want something better
2. Commit to Something Today: This second step is super easy. You don't have to see the whole staircase to take the next step. What's one small thing you can commit to doing starting today, every day? And you do it. And then when you're comfortable with that, you ask yourself, “What's the next small thing you can do?” Don't think big things. Take the first little step.
Don't be tired. Be tired of living in a familiar discomfort.
God bless everybody. Have a great week and let's go make a difference. Go make some money, everybody. Take care. We'll see you next week. Bye-Bye.
