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Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

Guest post by: Rebel Brown

Article Overview: Human beings have an amazing capacity to adapt. But adapting too easily in the face of discomfort can leave us stuck in a no-way-out situation.

Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

It always amazes me how easily we can become comfortable with the uncomfortable. That ski boot that rubs my right ankle doesn't bother me as much by the 3rd day - I've already started to get a callous to ward off the rub. That annoying headache from my new sunglasses dulls over time. I guess I just plain get used to it. It's the same in business. Our revenues are dropping so we cut some staff, then more staff. The next thing you know we're operating on a shoestring. Our happy workplace becomes a daily dungeon. Everyone is overwhelmed and underpaid. But we keep going and eventually - we get used to it. When business begins to get better - that dungeon becomes the baseline for moving forward again. Instead of planning our growth from a place of strength - we plan it based on a faulty foundation. And we wonder why we never get our momentum back.

Discomfort has a purpose.

When we feel discomfort in the form of physical pain - it's a warning to stop what we're doing. We pay attention when the flame gets a bit too hot on our hand, or the snow begins to freeze our fingers.

Our sense of discomfort tells us when we're on the wrong path, when something needs to change to operate more efficiently or just plain better enjoy our lives. I toughed through the first day with my ski book and sunglasses, but I wasn't at my optimum. When I fixed the pain in my boot - I skied better. When I stretched my sunglasses, that headache went away and I had a much more enjoyable time.

Cutting staff to a bare bones minimum causes discomfort among our employees. Cutting even more staff - while continuing on our same path - creates more discomfort. Our employees may get used to the new way of business, but we still haven't focused on solving the problem. We tough our way through the uncomfortable - while continuing on our same path. Have we found a better way to operate? Nope. Have we strategically changed our course so that we can be more efficient and begin to grow? No. We've simply learned to tolerate the uncomfortable as part of our daily operations, and we've allowed our business to settle for less without looking at all the options.

Some discomfort is a good thing - it keeps us on our toes, gives us an edge. That rush to ship all of our orders before the end of the quarter, that extra push to close a deal by the end of the year. Those are good uses of discomfort - seeking a positive and upbeat outcome.

Too much discomfort pushes us over the edge.

Human beings have an amazing capacity to adapt. But adapting too easily in the face of discomfort can leave us stuck in a no-way-out situation. As with all things, there's a balance. When we are overwhelmed, feel like we're sinking with no way up - it's a sign that something needs to change. We're not in an optimum place for peak performance. We're often in danger of losing stability as we try to do more and more with less and less.

That's not the time to accept the status quo and get comfortable - it's the time to get feisty and find a better way!

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Article Tags: business reinvention, business transformation, change, evolution, growth, marketing, opportunity, strategy, transformation



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