Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Jesse Cole
Owner of Savannah Bananas, Creator of Banana Ball, Author of Fans First & Find Your Yellow Tux, Keynote Speaker
I remember the feeling like it was yesterday. I was standing in a side room at the Gaston County Club. I was shaking and sweating and beyond nervous. My name was about to be called. It was Dancing for the Future Stars in Gastonia and I was about to dance in front of hundreds of people. Not just dance. A Ballroom Dance. The Cha Cha to be exact. And I was not a dancer.
I've given hundreds of speeches. I've been on our field in front of thousands of fans. But dancing a ballroom dance in front of the community, this was something else. I was a nervous wreck. Even writing this today, the feelings are coming back up.
But I went out there and danced my heart out. It wasn't pretty. But it was fun. And after the event, I felt alive. One of the best feelings I've ever had.
I was more uncomfortable than I've ever been. It taught me one of the greatest lessons.
You can't grow unless you make yourself uncomfortable. I needed to put myself in a situation that I was not used to.
My biggest fear in life is settling. Settling with a job. Settling with my life. Accepting things the way they are.
Getting uncomfortable changes all that. This forces you to push yourself to try new things.
So the question is, what can you do today that makes you uncomfortable?
Here are some quick examples that I've tried:
Take a Cold Shower. Post a blog. Try the Coffee Challenge developed by Noah Kagan. Here he challenges people to go into a coffee shop and just ask for 10% off for no reason. It's harder than it seems.
Srinivas Rao challenges people to film yourself dancing and post on YouTube or Facebook. So staying true to this blog, here is my second dance at the Dancing with the Stars event to Michael Jackson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cxs0gtm7mJU
These are just small examples. But it's a way to challenge yourself.
What can you sign up for and commit to that will make you uncomfortable. Is it Toastmasters, to speak in front of people? Volunteering at a nursing home? Running a marathon?
The key is to get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable.
What can you do today to stretch yourself? How can you push yourself into uncomfortableness.
If you become comfortable being uncomfortable, you will have more comforts than you ever thought imaginable.