When to Just Shut Up and Do It
I hate it when leaders respond to concerns or resistance with, “Just shut up and do it.” But sometimes NIKE is right, Just do it.
Just shut up and do it:
Discomfort is the path to success, but not all discomfort is the same.
Sometimes discomfort means STOP. You’re uncomfortable with fudging the numbers, for example. In ethical areas discomfort means stop.
In the area of development, discomfort means press forward. The only way to increase capacity is to do things that make you at least a little uncomfortable.
In the area of character and virtue, discomfort means keep going. If you’re uncomfortable taking responsibility, just shut up and do it.
Do stuff you want to avoid.
Fear is defeated by doing what’s uncomfortable. You overcome fear of snakes, for example, by getting progressively closer to snakes. (Exposure Therapy)
The answer to insecurity is action.
Remember past experiences when you stepped into uncertainty and difficulty. Now do that again and again.
Discomfort is the companion of growth and development.
Comfortable with discomfort:
Pursue a win that makes you comfortable with discomfort.
Don’t wake up thinking, “I’m going to make myself miserable today.”
Discomfort isn’t its own reward. But discomfort gives value to progress. Hard-fought wins are more fulfilling than easy wins.
Just shut up and do it:
#1. Appreciate others when you feel under-appreciated.
#2. Serve when disappointed.
#3. Forgive when offended.
The trouble with forgiveness is you don’t need it until it’s hard to give. Usually we don’t forgive, we tolerate and call it forgiveness. Forgiveness is always hard.
#4. Bring it up when avoiding is easier.
#5. Care when others don’t care.
Some leadership behaviors are their own reward. Hard work, for example, is its own reward. Find enjoyment in work, even if you have to shut up and do it.
How has discomfort been an asset on your leadership journey?
What’s the difference between good discomfort and bad discomfort?
More reading:
Chasing Discomfort (A Life of Productivity)
Why Riding the Wave of Discomfort is Good for You (Psychology Today)
The delta between good and bad discomfort is recognizing that
when avoidance is becoming evasion,
that is the time to confront the fear/issue head-on
(stare the serpent in the eye)
and persevere/act for what you know to be best;
This is the definition of courage.
To get others to be courageous as well is leadership.
Thanks Rurbane. Your insight about avoidance becoming evasion is giving me something to think about.
If we are avoiding something, it’s time to look the serpent in the eye. I find that avoiding is draining, as well. It sucks the life out of me.
Better to just shut up and do it.
Well, some things – like snakes, death and taxes (harm) – are good to avoid;
but evasion is usually deadly – where fear invites the gremlin Murphy to visit with that which is evaded –
denial of enevitability morphs to a counterintuitive attraction of precisely that thing.
“Discomfort is the companion of growth and development.” –so true. Also quite scary. I, like many of us out there, am a creature of comfort. If left to my own devices, I’ll shy away from the struggle in growing and developing in new and uncharted territories. I find it helps to see a grander vision beyond the momentary discomfort — believing in the narrative that this is only temporary, there’s so much more on the other side. We’re working through some of this at our organization. It’s uncanny the number of these blogs that hit the nail on the head for us and what we’re going through. We often joke that Dan has our office “bugged”. Obviously that’s not the case, or is it?.. As always, great insight!
Thanks Chris. It’s great to be useful. Your insight about discomfort is temporary is something an optimist would say. Optimism takes us further than pessimism. An optimist is more willing to try things.
Dan,
Spot on!
Having squirmed outside one’s comfort zone builds us into better people, facing challenges is the success of growth and humility. If you didn’t want to do it? Just say so and we will find someone that will. I often say “I wouldn’t expect you to do something I wouldn’t do”!
The other side is “I know you can do it, just think it out”, we are not building “Pianos”!
Surely with those who are inexperienced there is the “Fear Factor” What if I screw up? Then we learned our lesson what not to do, for those who have not made a mistake surely hasn’t ventured outside their safety zone!
How many times have you assembled something and by the 3rd time it’s like geez, why did I make it so difficult?
🙂
“Do stuff you want to avoid….. Fear is defeated by doing what’s uncomfortable.” This is GREAT advice for even daily activities as well as big changes. How often do we put off starting an important project for fear we won’t have the perfect outcome? Then timeline stress gets added onto performance stress! Just getting started with an outline of what ‘success’ looks like and framing the key points you want to make can hugely remove the discomfort. You may change it multiple times before you’re done but you have to “Just do it!” and get started!
Thanks Susan. Love the idea that defining success and getting started in an imperfect way helps relieve stress.
All good and right on… except the snake part. Just, well, no. I won’t move from my northern climate of frozen tundra for that very reason. 😉 No snakes.
They are creepy!!
“What’s the difference between good discomfort and bad discomfort?”
Simple – what you achieve and what you can go on to achieve.
Discomfort that achieves nothing is just pain, and there are simpler, easier and cheaper ways to suffer pain without making all that effort.
If you’ve suffered discomfort, achieved something but can never repeat it, is that actually useful? If you do some massive lifts at the gym and suffer some sort of injury so you can’t work, never mind work out, the discomfort of achieving that personal best probably wasn’t worth it.
Thanks Mitch. So we should avoid pain and embrace certain kinds of discomfort. 👌
Well Dan, if you just want to suffer pain, you can head-butt the wall: it’s very simple, very cheap, will give you all the pain you want but doesn’t actually achieve anything. Suffering pain and having a useful result at the end – that’s more sensible!
Thanks Mitch. Truth be told, I’ve spent too much time butting walls. It’s pretty hard to make progress.
I think the most profound statement in today’s blog is this… “The trouble with forgiveness is you don’t need it until it’s hard to give. Usually we don’t forgive, we tolerate and call it forgiveness. Forgiveness is always hard.” That is good food for thought!
Great stuff Dan! This goes back to the importance of knowing your own values and having clearly defined goals. If something hurts – but it’s aligned with your values and is getting you closer to your goals – just do it! If it hurts, and it’s misaligned with your values, or isn’t helping you (or others), why bother???
What’s interesting about doing hard stuff is it’s mutually reinforcing. I’ve done some research on burnout and what I’ve found is that the people who push themselves through tough stuff are actually LESS burnt out. Conversely, the people who don’t push themselves because they’re trying to minimize risk/protect themselves, they actually end up being MORE burnt-out.
The meme is great. The dog’s eyes are telling us “just do it”; no need for a caption. I like the “discomfort” approach you take in conveying the message of taking action. Most inaction is probably because someone feels some sort of discomfort. The best example I can think of that shows how someone has successfully overcome discomfort is with my wife. A few years back, on whim, my wife signed up as a consultant for an MLM company. She really liked the products they were selling and wanted to try being a consultant. The problem, though, was that she was very reserved and did not like approaching people as potential clients. She considered the act intrusive, unwarranted, and out of her character. She had major discomfort issues with the whole process. So, for her first year as a consultant she rarely made any sales if any at all. At first, she chalked it up as her not knowing enough people, or the people she did know as being cheap. One day, I’m not sure why, she decided that she was going to push forward and step out of her comfort zone and attack this business head on. She has done things I never thought I’d see her doing, earning extra money while simultaneously doing something she loves to do; all while doing things that a few years ago she was scared to death to do! It’s an amazing success story, whether she gets rich from it or not. She has inspired others to become a part of the program, and others who were already a part of the program to try harder. The thing about being a leader is to be first out there to take that leap of faith and show others that they don’t have to be scared.
Discomfort is always the plugs to ride on especially if one recognizes the initial input while in process to define a goal.
Discomfort is an asset whereby I learn from subtle emotional failures, an aspiring leader can’t lead without Emotional Intelligence. You must know what define your status in the team by being accountable and empathetic to drive the force of engagement and civility in the environment.
‘ The answer to insecurity is action ‘ how do I show up to serve? How do I help the team to achieve their short-term goal?
Discomfort brings out the best in you and deny what the beast crave for. It all fall into how humble one retains his integrity to learn from the unknown odds of reality.