tldr; Live Uncomfortably – Get uncomfortable, push yourself there every day. By doing so you’ll see growth in unimaginable ways. See action plan.
Conquering Columbus has adopted the phrase “Live Uncomfortably” after our initial launch, but we haven’t taken the time to explain it’s meaning. Let’s shed some light on these two beautiful words, and what they mean to us.
Plain and simple, uncomfortably is an adverb that describes the way that one lives. From there, the adjective uncomfortable boils down to feeling slight pain, physical discomfort, unease, and even awkwardness. On top of that, we are saying that you should live in this way! Why the hell would anyone want to live uncomfortably?
Let’s turn to our founders for insight:
Josh Whitt:
“Live Uncomfortably means consciously and consistently living outside of your comfort zone, in pursuit of something that you deem personally greater. Sometimes, the uncomfortable can become comfortable, it’s more of a state-of-mind than a place-of-mind.”
Consciously and consistently are necessary adjectives that describe a way to turn an arbitrary desire into a realistic, achievable objective. Simply reading the phrase “Live Uncomfortably” isn’t going to change the way you live. Consciously playing with the idea, and finding ways to be uncomfortable will. Consistency will turn a one time activity into an integral part of life.
State-of-mind vs. place-of-mind is an awesome contrast. A state is a part of consciousness, by being in a state of living uncomfortable, it is ingrained into what you do daily, and you wouldn’t be yourself without it. A place is a physical location, you can come and go as you please.
Joe Grandominico:
“Live Uncomfortably is a call to action. It changes my perspective of what I need to do today, to achieve what I want tomorrow. “
Something that the United States, Ohio, and Columbus (yes, you Columbus) has issues dealing with is immediate gratification. Immediate gratification feels good, and it feels good right now. The issue with this is that what feels good now, often costs us later. Two quick examples, those who don’t have the capability to delay gratification have much high odds of having a high BMI (obesity), or having serious drug addictions.
There is so much power that lies dormant inside of us. If we are able to push past being comfortable and caving to our needs immediately, we can all grow in so many ways. The beautiful thing is that it applies to everyone, regardless if you’re an athlete, young professional, entrepreneur or even a chef grinding away in the kitchen, we all know the areas where we have never pushed ourselves, and how we could improve if we did.
Mike Manuche:
“Live uncomfortably means constantly putting yourself in situations that make you better as a person, despite the fact that you may experience momentary discomfort or pain. It is a process of testing your limits in order to push beyond them and become a stronger person in all aspects of life.”
There’s a very precise point where people metaphorically “break”, and by breaking I mean can no longer hold their typical composure. This applies to all places in life, frustration at work, exhaustion in athletics, and even in a lack of knowledge in academic environments. We are referring to that place where we break as a limit, and the capability to push that limit further is a game changer. Pushing your limit just an inch, can allow you to double your capacity at work, achieve 100% better performance in your sport and countless other things.
Every leader we have on our podcast is a strong person, and while Mike said all aspects, I think he really meant any aspect vs. every aspect. If you are intentional in pushing your limits in the right areas, you can become stronger.
With these definitions in mind, follow the action plan below, and live uncomfortably.
Action Plan:
- Pick an area that you want to grow in (business, athletics, communication, etc)
- Determine where your comfort zone is (I never push new ideas, I never run faster than 9MPH, I never speak without a powerpoint)
- Get uncomfortable (push 5 new ideas, run at 10MPH, sing in front of an audience)
- Do it often (new ideas everyday, 11MPH tomorrow, join a speaking team)
- Encourage others to get uncomfortable
