I don’t really get embarrassed. I can recall 3 childhood occasions of embarrassment, tops. Typically, not much makes me feel like I want to hide, and I attribute that to my goofy nature and ease of adaptability. I get nervous, sure. And even more so, I feel discomfort like anyone else, but discomfort is quite different from embarrassment. Feeling discomfort is potentially a daily experience for most people.
Discomfort is felt in the middle of a workout, when you’re 15 minutes in and haven’t hit the halfway marker. Your muscles are fatigued and you ask yourself if you can manage another single rep… (p.s., you can). A runner feels extreme discomfort 20 miles into their marathon. A smoker feels extreme discomfort two days after quitting. Discomfort is felt at work, when you’ve been asked to tackle another task, and you’re feeling the list begin to grow. Discomfort is felt pushing past any personal limit. Tearing a ligament, going through physical therapy, waiting, and waiting some more, to heal. Discomfort is even felt in the weather. There are many levels and ranges of discomfort, and regardless of the severity or situation, I argue that discomfort is something people run from.
Why, though? Simply because discomfort is the final factor, the last hurdle, that determines either our growth or our set-back, and it never feels good. Each of us has created our own little bubble of comfort zones, and 90% of the time for 90% of people, in that bubble is where we tend to stay. Imagine shunning every single experience that was outside of your comfort zone… eesh.
Discomfort is part of our culture at Wepco. Living out our core values can be uncomfortable. From doing more, to impacting our community, each core value has the potential to place us outside of our comfort zones. Not every team member likes to speak in front of a crowd, but sometimes, it’s necessary to do so to impact our community. For example, getting Jeff behind a camera takes a bit of effort, but once he’s there, he shines. And without Jeff behind the camera, we wouldn’t have reached nearly as many school children in our virtual school tour during this pandemic. Jeff’s courage to step outside of his comfort zone impacted our community, and maybe next time, it won’t be so challenging. Mary Slaughter and David Rock from the NeuroLeadership Institute said it best: “The key here is desirable difficulty. The same way you feel a muscle burn when it’s being strengthened, the brain needs to feel some discomfort when it’s learning. Your mind might hurt for a while— but that’s a good thing.”
Sometimes, being comfortable is just setting boundaries that are healthy. Most of the time, being comfortable is restricting you from being the best version of yourself. We were not made for comfort. Discomfort never killed anyone. Even pain never killed anyone. Don’t shrink from things that don’t feel amazing. Speak in front of a crowd. Offer the survey. Go to the networking event, and have a glass of wine. Ask questions. Work harder in exercise. Come back the next day. Confront those fears, and you just might flourish.