How do you think our minds, bodies, careers, and friendships grow? We take ourselves out of our comfort zones, add additional resistance and challenges, and everything grows to adapt to this stimulus. When you make everything easy and bare minimum, it doesn’t help create growth, just mediocrity. Well… when we look at people who get comfortable, they get complacent, falsely confident, and unable to go out of their comfort zone. This creates problems when actual problems do arise, and the inability to handle such situations. “Bliss is on the other side of fear” - Will Smith
I find one of the greatest ways to develop thicker layers inside and out of the body, is to take yourself out of your comfort zone. A few relatable Ex:
Taking a shower, turning the water to ice cold for a few seconds (build up to a few minutes).
If you’re convinced you hate cardio, go out and run, bike, row, or hike. Top human killer are diseases of the heart (aka Cardiovascular diseases), so a good idea would be to build up your cardio, like it or not!
Worried about starting a business, stop what you are doing and start a business, even if you fail. You will probably learn more from those real life failures than all the books you will read about those who have succeeded.
Top athletes changing something in their game to make their overall performance better. Rafael Nadal changed his service motion while at #1 in the world, which takes tons of guts but obviously has paid off.
Top CEO’s, athletes, artists, military leaders step out of their comfort zone and against the grain all the time to make sure they are always 1 step above and different from their opponents or competitors. Look at someone like the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson, nothing like anyone before him. Or Elon Musk, could have cashed out when he got rich, but continues to do everything he has to help humans survive longer via solar energy, electric cars, Space shuttles that can transport us to new planets, and more.
Application to Training
I like to start new students with resilience training, where I make them hold a position Isometrically (no joint angle or muscle length change during contraction). This builds strong/robust muscles and tendons, but also trains the mind to handle that uncomfortable position for a set amount of time. Ex: When I was in high school and hoping to become a Navy SEAL oneday, my friend and I built our wall sit time to 32 mins, and pushup hold to 3 mins and 30 seconds, both of which got uncomfortable around minute 1. I find this teaches qualities that don’t seem common in sports training as much anymore… grit and resilience. Many championships are won with those 2, so why not train them!
“Embrace the suck!” - Navy SEALs
Socially
I find that many people will do what others are doing to feel comfortable and accepted. This is commonly taught with comments like “try your best to fit in”, “you need to get a real 9-5 job with benefits and stop chasing this dream”, “make sure you always listen and do everything the adults tell you to do.” Now I’m not saying you should intentionally become an outcast, sell ice cream because you love ice cream, or ignore your elders. Just remember, many people who tell you to “play it safe”, usually have a fear of taking risks and often complain daily about how they don’t like the way their boss talks to them, always seem to be cold, hate their job, don’t like where they are at in the world, are out of shape, etc. That is because they never went out of their comfort zone to create something themselves, never wanted to feel the pain of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) from a killer workout, or never got out of the perfect comfortable temperatures and situations they live in constantly. “Pain is the friend that always tells me the truth!!” - Bill “Biker” Wade
My replacement for: “make money to feel comfortable”, should sound something along the lines of: “follow your passion to accomplish your dreams and be prepared for many bumps and knock downs. Just remember, never quit and always get back up stronger and more determined!”
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