COMFORT IS THE ENEMY

Comfort is the enemy. When you really think about, there is nothing comfortable about a comfort zone. Eventually you become stagnant, lazy, and bored.  We are creatures of habit, and familiarity is what breeds comfort, but unfortunately, nothing grows in a comfort zone.

If you aren’t where you want to be in your life, it is most likely because you are stuck in your comfort zone. One of the biggest things that holds people back is fear, but fear is an illusion that is created by your mind. When is the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone and took on a new challenge? The reality is that if you aren’t growing, you're dying.

In order to achieve success in life, you have to be willing to take risks. When you do so, you discover who you truly are, which opens up the doors for growth, possibility, and change. The most successful people in the world made the choice to take the road less traveled; they learned how to get comfortable being uncomfortable by constantly pushing and testing the limits.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Are you ready to take the leap and tap into the unlimited potential that resides within you?

Watch the video below:

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Some people believe that on the other side of a goal is a life of comfort. They think that the struggle that they have to go through today is just a temporary process, and on the other side of the fence, life becomes easy and effortless. This is far from true.

They sell this illusion to themselves because it creates a sense of sanity. The challenge with this belief system is that once these people achieve their goal, they may take their foot off the gas, because they think, “I made it.” The reality is that the moment you get comfortable is the moment when you know you have to change something in your life.

There have been times in my life when I achieved such a high level of success, which made me feel that I had ‘made it’ and could now do whatever I wanted. It was at this point that I stopped working hard. Soon thereafter, I found myself in a place of boredom and depression. I had no sense of purpose. I slowly regressed back to old habits and I stopped feeling that sense of mission and excitement.

I believe that, as human beings, we become who we are through challenges and adversities. We have to learn to embrace the unknown. That is when we learn who we truly are and what we are made of. Comfort is the enemy. The only way that you grow is by stepping outside of your comfort zone. When you stop growing, you are no longer happy and fulfilled.

One of the best decisions that I made in my life is accepting that, in order to feel alive and be happy, I have to do things that make me feel uncomfortable. This shift in my mindset took my life to a whole other level. The most successful people in the world work the hardest. They don’t need to do it, but they do because they understand that growth is a part of life.

Someone who is dedicated to living a life of mastery ascribes to this way of thinking. It all comes down to your mindset.  It’s OK to be comfortable and experience pleasure. I encourage you to celebrate your accomplishments, but don’t let it hinder you from growing and evolving in your life.

Comfort is the enemy. I challenge you to open your mind to this new way of thinking. Although it might feel warm and cozy in your comfort zone, there is no room for excitement or adventure.  Adversity, problems and difficult times are a reality of life. Embrace them, and acknowledge that they are there to teach you something about yourself and the world. Instead of looking at discomfort in a negative way, why not embrace it as a gift in order to grow and maximize your potential?

Lou Macabasco said it best – “We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are. We can only change our life, if we are brave enough to be out of our comfort zone, because the first step to change in your circumstances, is a change from within you.”

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Video transcript

Comfort is the enemy. Now, oftentimes when I make a statement like that, it elicits a mixed response in people. For some people, it might make them feel uncomfortable. For others, they're thinking, “Well, why am I doing this all for them?  Why am I going through this discomfort right now to achieve my goals and dreams? I thought I was doing that so that one day I could finally be comfortable?”  You might disagree or agree with that statement, but regardless, I want you to have an open mind because taking on this belief system can change your entire life.

In fact, it's made a huge difference in my life. When I really acknowledged this and accepted it in my life, it allowed me to go to a whole new level. Thinking that comfort is the enemy is a very counterintuitive thing, because for most people, they want to live a comfortable life. You want to live a life where you can start a business, and maybe you acknowledge and accept the fact that it's going to be uncomfortable at first because everything is brand new. You understand that you need to go through that process and that journey, and that there are ups and downs, and failures along the way.

However, you are doing it with the aspiration that one day, you are going to build your business, create passive income, have someone run your business for you, and make a certain amount of money.  One day, you are going to be comfortable and live a life where you just get to do nothing.  If you are currently pursuing a fitness or a health goal, you might think, “My God, right now it's really uncomfortable because I have to go to the gym, and I have to push myself.  I have to lift weights that I'm not comfortable lifting.  It hurts, it's painful, and I've got to recover. I've got to push myself beyond my comfort zone. I'm doing that so that one day I'm going to have that fit, athletic body that I desire. I'm going to have the vibrancy and the vitality, and I'm going to be comfortable.”

Or you might think, “It might be uncomfortable right now to pursue a relationship, but I've got to face my fears and be vulnerable. I've got to go through this whole uncomfortable process so that one day I can attract that man or woman of my dreams, and I can finally be comfortable.”  This is an illusion that people have about life.  They think that, on the other side of their goal, is this life of comfort. They think that the struggle that they're going to have to go through right now is just a temporary struggle, and then on the other side, life is easy and effortless. Like I said, it's the biggest illusion that's being sold to you. Oftentimes, people buy into this.  They sell that to themselves because it creates a sense of sanity of why they are doing what they are doing. They think that on the other side there's going to be this magnificent comfort and pleasure that they are going to experience.

The challenge with that belief system, is that once you achieve your goal and make it to the other side – you create that lifestyle, you make that money, you create that passive income, you acquire that relationship or that body – there's going to be a moment when you are going to take your foot off the gas because you're going to think that you made it. You're going to think, “You know what? I went through the grind, I went through the hustle, I achieved this life, and now I can finally be comfortable.  I can get a TV, and I can sit around and just finally do what I want to do. I can now enjoy the foods that I want to enjoy. I can go to the expensive restaurants. I can sit on the beach all day, or I no longer have to go through that. I could just play video games and live a very comfortable life.”

When you believe that, you take that on, and that's the beginning of the end right there. In fact, I remember Robert Herjavec from Shark Tank said that, “Comfort is the beginning of the end.” The moment you get comfortable, change something. Change something so that you are uncomfortable because the moment you get to that point when you stop growing and evolving, you stop pushing yourself. What happens when you stop growing and evolving is that you don't feel alive or happy. You miss out on that sense of fulfillment.  I'm sharing this from my experience as well, and people that I've coached and worked with, that have been through the exact same process. There's times in my life where I achieved a high level of success or I achieved a certain goal, and I thought, “You know what? I've made it now and I just want to be comfortable.”

It's only so long before you start going back to your old self, where your progress, your results, the life that you've created, the person that you've become, and the process starts to diminish slowly, but surely. Then you find yourself in a place of boredom, a place of lacking that fulfillment and happiness.  As human beings, we require challenge and adversity. Instead of looking at discomfort in a negative way, why not embrace it? Embrace it as a gift that allows you to grow and maximize your potential.

I remember when I was on the journey of really trying to make it happen and achieve success.  I was doing things, like intense morning rituals. I was going to all these different seminars.  I was learning, growing, and hiring coaches and mentors. I didn't even have a TV.  I thought TV was just the biggest waste of time. It was holding me back from my goals. I would sleep less. I had accountability buddies. I was setting visions and goals and taking massive action towards my goals so that one day I could achieve all of them and be comfortable.

However, once I achieved a high level of success and I became financially free, then I thought to myself, “You know what? I no longer need to do those things that I did before.  Now is the time I can buy a TV and I can get 500 channels, and I could now do whatever I want to do.  I don't have to do rituals. I don't have to do all these sort of things.” I thought I had made it.

I found myself in a place where I was actually depressed for a period of my life. I was like, “You know what? I'm just bored. I've got this beautiful penthouse. I've got this nice car. I've got this amazing relationship. I've got this great body. I achieved all these things that I thought that I wanted to achieve and I can just finally be comfortable.” But the challenge was that I slowly regressed back to where I was before. I stopped feeling that sense of aliveness and that sense of purpose, mission, and excitement, and the challenge that I had to go through in overcoming those challenges, and really growing and evolving myself.

I think that comfort is a trap.  Comfort is the enemy, and that in our lives we always need to be growing and evolving. The only way that you grow is by stepping outside your comfort zone. We all have this realm of comfort. The more you grow, the bigger this realm of comfort becomes for you. Right now, your comfort zone might be relatively small, but the more that you push it, guess what? It becomes bigger. Things that once were uncomfortable for you now become comfortable because your realm of comfort has expanded.

The challenge is that when you stop pushing that comfort zone, and you stop facing that discomfort, you stop growing, and you are no longer happy and fulfilled.  We have to embrace discomfort and struggle. We have to embrace the uncertainty and the unknown.  The most successful people in the world all work their butts off. They are all growing, evolving, and doing incredible things. They don't need to do because they already have all the money in the world, but they are still doing it because they understand that growth is a part of life, that if you are not growing, than you're dying. Perhaps this belief system might be counterintuitive for you.  You might not even be open to it, based on where you are at right now in your life, but I want you to open yourself up to it a little bit and understand that discomfort is here to stay, and that you can't be living your life for comfort.

One of the best decisions that I made in my life a long time ago is understanding that, in order to be alive and happy in my life, I'm going to have to do things that I don't want to do. I'm going to have to do things when I don't feel like doing it, when I'm tired, when emotionally I might be off, or going through a hard time, or whatever it might be. It's in those moments in life where you just want to be comfortable and sit in front of the TV, or watch Netflix, or play video games, or eat that junk food, that might make you feel good temporarily.

I understood that successful people still do things when they don't feel like it. They still push themselves past those uncomfortable feelings and emotions. When you do, on the other side is a sense of aliveness and freedom unlike anything else, where you just feel incredible. I'm sure you know that feeling when you didn't want to do something, like going to the gym, but you pushed yourself anyways. You always feel great about yourself afterwards because you did something that was right. It was making progress in your life towards who you want to be.

It's a different mindset. It's a different belief system that I hope that you will take on.  You need to understand that it's not all about being comfortable. Maybe it's okay to be comfortable for a little while. I'm not saying that you shouldn't celebrate. I'm not saying that you shouldn't experience any pleasure in your life. Don't get mixed up with that. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have that. I think that it's a great thing to reward yourself.  I'm not saying that you can't watch TV or play the video games once in a while.

Once in a while is okay, as long as as it's not the every day norm.  As long as it doesn't hold you back from growing and evolving in your life to being who you want to be and experiencing your potential. Keep that in mind. You always have to be growing. You are always going to be facing discomfort and challenges in your life. Embrace the struggles. Take them on. Acknowledge them. Accept them.  Understand that they are gifts that you've been given that can allow you to really grow.

In fact, I remember seeing a study that found that, when people get tired and retire around 65 years of age, they end up dying because they no longer have a purpose. They no longer have obstacles and something that they are moving towards. They just get bored.  They have nothing that's challenging them and allowing them to grow. It's not about comfort; it's about growth and understanding that discomfort is part of that process.  Take it on, embrace it, and acknowledge it. I want to thank you for watching this video. If you enjoyed it, hit the thumbs up button. Leave a comment below. Subscribe for more videos. I look forward to talking to you again soon. Take care.