How to Embrace Feeling Uncomfortable

In his Forbes article, “Why Feeling Uncomfortable Is The Key To Success,” Sujan Patel shares, “Routines may make you feel at ease and in control, but what a constant routine really does is dull your sensitivities. Think about the times in your life when you’ve driven the same route repeatedly: after a certain number of trips, you start tuning out most of it. Have you ever had a trip to the office where you barely remember what happened after you got in the car?

That’s why being uncomfortable is something you should embrace. Putting yourself in new and unfamiliar situations triggers a unique part of the brain (https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(06)00475-2?_returnURL=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0896627306004752%3Fshowall%3Dtrue&cc=y%3D) that releases dopamine, nature’s make-you-happy chemical. Here’s the mind-blower; that unique region of the brain is only activated when you see or experience completely new things.

Few people actually enjoy the feeling of being uncomfortable. The challenge is to get past that initial feeling of wanting to return to the norm, so you can grow and benefit from that discomfort.”

We know that being uncomfortable is essential to growth and success so I’ve put together a few things that will help you in advance:

1. Stretch Your Mental Muscles
Think of your mind as a muscle. When you exercise your body a bit more and stretch your muscles a little harder, you feel accomplished, you know you had a good workout and you benefit from it.

The same applies to your mind. When you feel your “mental muscle stretch” when you work your mental muscles more than usual by doing things such as going out of your comfort zone, embrace it. Know that you’ve accomplished something significant.

2. Seek Out Opportunities to Stretch
Decide today to do something new or different every day. Seek out opportunities to stretch beyond your comfort zone.

For example:
-You could take a new route to work
-Do a Facebook Live video
-Give a speech
-Attend a business network meeting
-Ask for what you want

-The idea is to do something that “pushes” your limit(s).

3. Start Taking Action
I can guarantee there are things you’ve always wanted to do in your life. Perhaps you’ve written them on your To Do List, made a New Year’s resolution or set a goal some time ago.

The first step is always the most uncomfortable one. It’s awkward to start something new or different and yet, you cannot enhance your life or business if you don’t try something different. I encourage you to make the decision to take action and do it! Regardless of how loud your mind chatter is or if you find yourself wanting to stop – do it.

Remind yourself that you made a decision to better your life or business. Commit to taking the first step knowing it will be uncomfortable but you will be better off for taking it!
As Sujan Patel describes so well: “Many times, there’s so much you want to do, and you have so many ideas you want to explore, that you struggle to take action on any of them. That discomfort, fear, or uncertainty paralyzes you. That’s the point where you start listening to the doubts of yourself and others – and the voice in your head becomes a breeding ground for negativity.

If you feel uncomfortable, then you’re ultimately doing something right, but toe dipping outside of your safe space never really gets things moving. You need to dive in head-on and fully immerse yourself. That might be more stressful, but there’s no better way to get the process going so you move beyond that one thing holding you back.”

Think about it! What are some of the things you are avoiding because it feels uncomfortable to do them?

Embrace being uncomfortable and contact me for a Free Session (https://ulrikeberzau.com/contact-ulrike-berzau/) where I’d love to share tools and techniques that will help you move beyond your comfort zone with confidence.