Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable - the ability to get used to being in situations that are not in your comfort zone and instead of running from them, to embrace them (yes, to be able to feel ok feeling uncomfortable) and keep going.
This is a hard concept to embrace but it is totally do-able.
I have one client who is in the midst of a career transition, applying to jobs, networking, and a lot of unknown as to what is next. She continues to say, “Everything has been so easy for me up until now, I freak out the moment something seems hard, new, or I do not know what to do”
And another client, who had been at her job for a while and recently stepped into a leadership role. Shifting from having peers who are now direct reports, finally having a seat at the table with the “big shots”, and earlier in her career being told to “not rock the boat”. And in her new role, she is realizing she no longer wants to play small and in order for her to truly step into this role, rocking the boat and speaking up is exactly what she needs to do.
Both clients feel a tremendous amount of self doubt, yet they know that they need to embrace this discomfort in order to move forward because if they don’t, they will stay the same and continue to hold themselves back from doing the things they want to do.
This makes complete sense, uncertainty, change, and doing hard things is uncomfortable. Not knowing next steps, navigating job and career changes, life changes, people and personalities, all unknown as we are going through it.
It's all resistance, and will you let it stop you?
Resistance is the voice in your head - “Am I capable?”, “ Am I smart enough?”, “Do I really deserve to be here?”, “Will they like/respect me?”, “Will I say the “right” thing?”, “Will I look stupid?”
It's the feeling in your body - a sinking feeling in your stomach, tightness in your chest, pressure.
Resistance tries to keep you the same, keep you safe and in your comfort zone.
It is holding them back from speaking up, making decisions, hard choices, and just doing the thing they want to.
My clients realize it is not serving to hold themselves back and allow resistance to win.
So we are working on this. Working on how to recognize when they are in discomfort and how to manage through it vs. continuing to “sit on the sidelines”
They are learning to identify the resistance, recommit to why they want what they want, what they need to help them take the next step.
They are deciding to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable by breaking down what they are going through, and shifting their mindset as they move forward by reminding themselves …
1- It is ok to start something new, be a beginner, and have no clue what you are doing! You will eventually figure it out, like you have done in the past.
2 - Get curious versus judgmental. It is not bad to not know something. Embrace that whatever you are going through is a learning opportunity to take the pressure off that you have to achieve an outcome to feel successful.
3 - Be ok with failure. Failure is simply learning.
3 - Embrace feelings of discomfort, and get curious. Usually when you feel discomfort, your body is alerting you that this is something you should pay attention to. (My favorite saying is “fear is like breadcrumbs” showing you exactly what you should do next)
4 - Do not take yourself so seriously, have a little fun and be able to laugh at yourself.
5 - Break it down, instead of worrying about everything and every scenario, ask yourself “What is the next right step?” to help guide you, one step at a time.
6 - When you feel uncomfortable, acknowledge that you are growing, learning, and be proud of yourself for doing something scary and unknown!
Notice you are not comfortable with being uncomfortable and TIRED of it holding you back?
Message me for more info on how we can work together!
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