Comfort is Toxic
Comfort is a warning. Don’t wait for failure to change. Abandon what’s working before it fails.
Your Brain at Ease
- Stops scanning for issues.
- Stops challenging the process.
- Stops questioning methods.
- Starts protecting the past.
Comfort is unquestioned repetition.
Comfort Says
- “Stay the same.”
- “Don’t risk this.”
- “Don’t disrupt that.”
- “We already know what works.”
The world doesn’t freeze because you built a good system. Markets shift. People change. Competitors copy. Conditions move.
Familiarity breeds predictability.
Predictability invites decline.
Upgrade When
- Numbers are strong.
- Culture feels stable.
- No one is complaining.
Ease makes the pursuit of better impossible.
Making good better takes more courage than solving problems.
Note: Upgrade when you have adequate resources.
Abandoning what Works Demands…
- Humility (“This isn’t perfect.”)
- Curiosity (“What else is possible?”)
- Indifference (“I’m not my past success.”)
When you’re comfortable you’re sinking.
Choose Discomfort
Learn something that makes you clumsy again. Feeling awkward indicates growth opportunities.
Try on …
- New leadership styles.
- New industry ideas.
- New technology.
- New way of listening.
- New strategies for coaching.
If you don’t feel slightly embarrassed by your first attempt, you aren’t challenging yourself.
Where has ease made you quietly stop improving?
How might you create a little distress today?
Don’t Let Misery Make You Miserable
The Narrow Path: Why Choosing Hard Things Is Your Best Investment Forbes
The danger is trying to change too much, too fast. Wisdom lies in knowing what to change now and what to leave alone for the time being.
So true, Paul. I’m starting to feel the serenity prayer. In organizations with too much change, people wish they could just finish one thing before changing something else.
Love this insight! I’ve often observed that the sooner you embrace change, the more say you get to have on what that change looks like, and the longer you wait to embrace change, the fewer good options remain.
Love that insight, Mike. The people on the sidelines don’t get to steer the ship. Of course, they don’t risk failure either.
“The world doesn’t freeze because you built a good system.” I love this – what an insightful sentence. I have seen this idea communicated before, but this sentence may be the best the best version of this. I know I have worked hard on creating a process and the creation prospered…but then I relied on it too long…people got bored with the process and it didn’t produce the same results it once did.
Thanks for your reflection, Travis. Like you, I’ve been the victim of my own persistence. I’m working on a post today about getting beyond persistence. Challenging a quiet status quo feels dumb until you include your insight.
This completely resonated with me. If you haven’t already seen it or heard of it, a group on YouTube, YesTheory, has some great inspirational adventures that show the side of humanity we sometimes forget about, but also instills the message of “Seek Discomfort” it helps you grow in so many ways! Thanks as always for all your great insight!
Wow! I hadn’t heard of YesTheory. Thanks for bringing it up. I’m heading over there now. Cheers
This resonates with me, but I’m worried about my tendency to extremes.
When is enough enough?
I hear you Rob. It’s all or nothing. You make we wonder about running pilot programs as an individual.
Instead of encouraging people to go outside their comfort zone, I suggest they look for a new comfort zone. I find this to be a productive and manageable journey for most people.
Your comment got me thinking about rising to the next level. We need to stay there a while to get comfortable. Stretch and master. Discomfort to comfort to discomfort and so on.