Get Off the Experience Treadmill

Jim just purchased a new gym membership, and he’s nervous about the change in lifestyle he knows he should make.

Making preparation, Jim buys new running shoes, new athletic clothes, and a shaker bottle for his post-workout protein shake.

Tomorrow is the big day.

Jim’s going to start a new chapter in his life. He will meet new people, and Jim will enjoy a whole new set of experiences.

As Jim enters the gym, most of the free weights and machines were taken. However, there was a treadmill open between two people. At 5AM, Jim hits “start” on the treadmill.

While he’s warming up with a brisk walk, the two runners on the side of him take notice of the new gym member. Susan, on his right, and Dan, on his left, both introduce themselves. After a few minutes, Jim picks up the pace to try matching the speed of Dan and Susan.

Eight minutes go by, and Jim is feeling the burn!

Slowing down the machine from a running pace back to a walking pace, Jim begins to cool off and bring his heart rate down. Stepping off the treadmill, Jim walks over to the stretching mats and begins to stretch his already wobbly legs.

A couple minutes into the stretch, Susan and Dan walk over and join Jim in his post-run stretches. They began casual small talk and start getting to know each other. Jim, Susan, and Dan have more in common than they thought each other would.

They are all in the software industry, but they hold uniquely separate roles. Jim is an Accountant, Susan is a VP of Sales, and Dan is an HR Director. Quickly finding common ground, being in the same industry, this trio starts what would become a daily meetup at the gym.

Each morning, for the next two months, Jim would enter the gym at 5AM, walk over to the open machine between Dan and Susan, and begin his workout. After the first couple of weeks, Jim’s muscle soreness began to wane, and his body became acclimated to the new lifestyle.

He was not only seeing results, but he had to buy new clothes due to the weight he had lost. But something started changing that Jim would realize much later than he wanted.

Around month three, Jim wasn’t getting sore anymore. He felt good about the weight he lost, and he was impressed with how little he was getting sick now. Pleased with himself, he got comfortable.

Months would go by, and Jim would repeat the same morning routine, treadmill run, and conversations with Susan and Dan.

His life was better, but he wasn’t physically improving anymore. He had plateaued.

His friendships with Susan and Dan were also comfortable. There had to be fifteen to twenty other people in the gym on any given day, but Jim was content with the two friends he made, and he was content on the treadmill.

Eventually, years would go by. Jim found himself looking in the mirror one morning and reflecting on the last ten years of his life.

They were good years. He was healthier. He had two good friends. But he wasn’t happy.

Somehow, in the midst of his comfort, he found himself uncomfortable. Jim was in a rut.

Ten years of the same experience, same people, same routine, and he hadn’t seen much personal, professional, or physical growth since that third month after joining his gym. The reality sank in deep.

It had been over nine years since Jim experienced any growth. He had ten years of experience, but the lack of diversity, experimentation, and networking in his gym experience had left him stagnant.

And even though he had ten years of experience, he realized he actually only had three months that were meaningful.

The Takeaway

There’s a lot of Jim’s in the world who are in the rut of living the same experiences. It’s easy to get caught in the routine of life. Whether at work, in relationships, or in your faith, it’s easy to get comfortable where you are.

A former VP of mine used to say, “there’s no comfort in the growth zone, and there’s no growth in the comfort zone.”

There’s going to be discomfort when you step outside of your routine.

The key to embracing this is to intentionally seek out discomfort by intentionally trying new things. Be prepared to fail. Most learning comes out of failures.

Many times, in our careers, we take roles that have a job description, limiting us to the roles we were hired for.

However, there are many talented professionals who have capabilities beyond their job description.

You aren’t doing your company, your co-workers, or yourself any favors by not using your talents and abilities, beyond your job description, to add value to those around you.

In our relationships we can fall into the same trap.

In a marriage, one spouse might be the bread-winner while the other stays home. The bread-winner may feel as if the household chores are the responsibility of the stay-at-home spouse.

It’s only fair right?

Wrong.

The money saved by your spouse staying home, from not having to hire a sitter or pay for day care, is like getting a raise if you think about it. Since they are helping financially, you should be willing to help with yard work, dishes, or whatever you’re capable of around the house.

Lastly, in a faith built on love, we do no person any good by staying in a bubble. Faith without action is a dead faith, and if the cornerstone of your faith is supposed to be loved-based, then how are we living out our faith if we never get out and show love to people who need it?

Trust me, in a self-centered world, it’s uncommon to see love being shown to strangers, but if you’re a person of faith, that’s exactly what you’re called to do. That’s exactly what you should want to do if you believe what you say you believe.

In all walks of life, as Andy Mineo would say, “You’ve got two choices; both require pain: one’s the pain of change and the other is staying the same.”

If you’re actively seeking growth, you’ll enjoy the pain that comes from stepping out of the comfort zone and into the growth zone. In biological terms, growth is one of the key factors to determine whether an object is living. You’ve likely heard it said that if you’re not growing you’re dying.

Biologically, if you’re not growing, you’re already dead.

So, get off of the experience treadmill, and do something new to add value to the life or business of someone around you today.