Wanna Succeed? .... Get Uncomfortable.

[craigharper.com]

As an Exercise Scientist and Trainer I have spent much of the last twenty-five years helping people change their body. Smaller, bigger, lighter, leaner, more muscle, more flexibility, speed, power... Athletes, non-athletes, kids, mums, dads.....whatever they were after; that's what I did my best to deliver.

Early in my career I discovered that whether or not someone achieved their desired goals had very little to do with what was possible, or their genetic potential, and everything to do with their ability to deal with discomfort.

They say that every decision we make in life is in an effort to avoid pain, or gain pleasure.

We choose to eat the cake because we associate cake with pleasure.
We choose to avoid the dentist because we associate the dentist with pain.
We choose to stay in a bad relationship because we associate more pain with getting out of the relationship than staying in it.

But the reality is :

1) we don't need the cake
2) we do need the dentist and
3) we should get out of that destructive relationship.

If only we would give up the cake, look after our teeth and deal with our relationship (i.e. get uncomfortable) we would discover that the short-term pain/discomfort would make way for a whole new world of possibilities and a whole new level of growth, understanding and achievement.

Some personal-power muscles.

Lesson 1.
Change is usually uncomfortable.

If you want an amazing life and you're all about creating positive change, then learn to deal with, if not embrace, discomfort.

Sorry Dude.
Just how it is.

In the science of strength training we talk about a concept called progressive resistance training or progressive overload.

In simple terms, the theory is this: If you want to get stronger and continue to grow muscle (hypertrophy) you need to continually manipulate the training variables (weight, sets, reps, recovery time, technique, program design) so as to constantly and progressively 'force' your body to adapt to the ever-changing stress (all exercise is a form of stress).

When we talk about changing a body, we're talking about physiological adaptation... and a body will only adapt when it has a reason to. Most people in most gyms train their body in a manner where there is no need for adaptation... that's why they typically look the same, year in, year out.
Or worse.

Rather than following a program or plan which is progressive in nature (causes them to get uncomfortable on a regular basis) they follow a 'maintenance program'... because it's easy and comfortable.
And they love 'comfortable.'

They don't want to maintain, or intend to maintain... but that's all they're doing.
They will continue on their cycle of frustration and zero results until they give their body a reason to adapt or until they throw in the towel altogether.

This adaptation/growth principle of exercise science can be applied to life and to our personal growth.

Lesson 2.
In general, a person's ability to succeed will be largely dependant on their ability to adapt (deal with discomfort and change).

Life, relationships, careers, emotions, business markets, technologies, philosophies, environments are all in a constant state of evolution. This is part of the problem; we are creatures of habit and we like familiarity; we like 'same'.

Lesson 3.
We like the benefits of change, but we don't like the process.
But it's the process, not the results, from where the real benefits come.

Whether it's physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, professional, social or financial growth your after.... be prepared to get uncomfortable on a regular basis and you will dramatically improve your chances of creating your best life.
By the way, the minute you make that uncomfortable decision, or do that uncomfortable thing you've been avoiding, the change process becomes instantly easier and your chances of success go through the roof ... because you got your head and heart (thinking, attitude, standards, emotions) where they need to be.

And you did what you needed to do.

Just like we work against resistance in the gym and we get stronger and grow muscle, those of us who work against resistance outside of the gym (problems, challenges, opposition, criticism, self doubt, insecurity, fear) get stronger and grow a different kind of muscle; emotional muscle, psychological muscle, self-control muscle, personal development muscle and spiritual muscle... and more.


Now go and get uncomfortable... and grow some muscle.

[Amadeus]

Excellent post. Without a doubt, the body thrives off change, discomfort and variety. A lot of body builders or athletes will keep the same routine over and over again. The body gets use to it and will refuse to grow......simply because it doesn't have to. The body is extremely efficient and will not grow if it doesn't have to. Think about it, when your muscles grow due to weight training you are developing scare tissue in order for the muscle to grow. Of course your body will reject this if possible.

Also when it comes to spiritual, financial, or personal growth we can only accomplish success through change and variety. I think Napoleon Hill's philosophy from Think and Grow Rich best describes this in the chapter on Desire. You have to work yourself into a white heat of burning desire in order to achieve your major objection. I liken it to when you get a flat tire or your car breaks down on the interstate or a strange area. Your brain and body goes into survival mode and you build such intensity in order to get your car back on the road again. This is how we need to live life everyday when it comes to our lives. We need to make everyday unique. The worst example of this unwillingness to change and stunting growth is the average day worker who works from 9 to 5 waiting for the day to end. He shows up everyday "coasts" through the workday in order to get his paycheck at the end of the week. He is not driven by results. He simply exists just to exist. If he is in a Union, it is even worse.

[Matt Willard]

We can accept that uncomfort is needed to succeed, but how to accept the discomfort, that's the caveat that a lot of us search for. Perhaps you should go into a bit more on how to attack this problem.

As for me, I'm dealing with this computer first before I move on.