Let me ask you this question. Have you ever had a goal you wanted to achieve or something you wanted to do, but for whatever reason you never follow through with it? Sounds familiar right? Now this could be anything.
- Maybe it was changing jobs to advance your career.
- Maybe it was starting a side hustle or business.
- Maybe it was finally starting that diet and gym routine.
The thought is always great in our minds, but it never transpires to any action. Why is this? Well the reason for this is because the idea of comfort is a very addictive drug. Our mind and body loves it. This is further enhanced by the day and age we live in – everything points to comfort: From our mobile phones, to our day to day routines, our unhealthy diet and the ease of our life with our current choices. That feeling of ‘ease’ can be very addictive. However this is often a rut which many, including myself can find themselves in. Before you know it years can go by and you haven’t made any progress in your life because you got comfortable and became satisfied with where you are and what you have. Now I’m not saying to continuously want more and look to the next thing and by all means if you are someone who is happily comfortable and has no desire to progress with no guilt feeling then more power to you. However, if you are someone who has regular progressive thoughts but never takes action, it’s probably because you are comfortable in life and this is stoping you from taking many beneficial steps to progress and get better.
The war of art covers a very real and important lesson: Growth can only occur through discomfort and resistance.
If we want to excel and progress in any areas of our lives it will require us to be uncomfortable to take the necessary steps in order to achieve this. I would actually argue that the things we are fearful of and are avoiding are the things we should strive towards as this will develop us to become better. If all of this resonates with you then its probably because you are very comfortable with how your life is right now but probably know deep down you are not living up to the potential you know you can achieve. So let’s discuss how you can how we can use the feeling of discomfort as our guide and fear as a map pointing you towards your growth.
Resistance and Fear
Before we can work towards breaking the cycle, we have to first understand the mechanics of what is happening. It boils down largely to the resistance which our mind gives us and the fear in which feel. These are two very natural obstacles which our mind creates when we are thinking of doing something uncomfortable or challenging. They are both linked. The reason for this is because our mind wants us to keep us safe and avoid anything we are even slightly fearful of. Think of it as the anxiety which keeps you away from something we don’t like and as a result keeps you ‘safe’. Resistance is almost like a self sabotaging voice in your head which can show in the form of fear, excuses or procrastination.
“Resistance will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work. It will perjure, fabricate: It will seduce you. Resistance is insidious.” – Steven Pressfield
Interestingly enough, resistance and fear gets stronger the closer you get to growth. It gets louder and this is usually a good sign to act on your thoughts. Fear and resistance go hand it hand. However within reason, the more you fear something, the more you should do it. Why? Because fear is a sign of something meaningful. You don’t fear things that don’t matter. You fear them because deep down you know they could change you. They could elevate you. They could expose you. So if you fear starting that business, moving city or moving job that’s probably what you should be doing.
Lets go over 5 ways we can break this cycle: explore our fears, discomfort and elevate our lives
The professional Vs The Amateur
One of the main points which Steven makes in the war of art relates to living your life like a professional over an amateur. The amateur hesitates in life, he waits and lets fear and resistance overcome him. On the other hand the professional makes no excuses and understands certain things may be hard or uncomfortable but must be done to get the desired results and improve. Start adopting this to your life, use this mindset, act like a professional in all aspects of your life. You owe it to yourself, your growth and your development. Amateur’s let comfort lead them to a life of mediocrity but professionals pursue discomfort because they know it leads to their growth.
Start with a challenge
Begin your day with a hard challenge or task. Something that you as an individual find hard and challenging. Start the process of re-wiring your brain to push into the discomfort. This could be something like as soon as you wake up in the morning jumping out of bed and starting your day straight away instead of scrolling on your phone in bed wide awake. This could be going for a short cold shower, or maybe begin the day with some exercise. Whatever it may be, try and tick a tough task off early on to set you up for the day ahead. The purpose of this is to go against the small voice we have in our heads which tells us to avoid the tough task. Once you build this muscle in the small areas of your life, its easier to overcome in the bigger decisions.
Jump into the fear
Become aware of when you feel the fear of doing something and within reason do it anyway in that moment. Make it a daily practice to do something that scares you. Nothing dangerous or silly, but do the scary thing which you know deep down you want to do which will develop you and grow your character. Allow yourself to feel the feeling of stepping outside of your comfort zone during this time, you will get used to the feeling and become more comfortable being uncomfortable.
Envision the future you
Envision the person you want to be in 5-10 years time. Where do you want go? Who do you see yourself as? Do you envision yourself in a better situation than now? Whether It be financially, physically or mentally. If this is the case then you should know it will take sacrifice and a degree of hardship to improve your situation. It will require you to step out of your comfort zone to improve aspects of your life. Remain in your court zone and you will be the same person in 10 years as you are now. That should be a scary thought.
One life mentality
If all else fails, understand that you have one life and the last thing you want to do is end up elderly and not having lived up to your potential. The last thing you want is to be elderly and have regrets about not doing certain things. Whether it was starting a business, going traveling or making new friends. All of it requires you to step out of your comfort zone. Do you want to look back on your life and realise that you never took the chance to step out of your comfort zone to pursue something you constantly thought about – simply because you chose to stay comfortable? Or do you want to look back on your life and be content that whether is was scary or not you made the jump, grew in the process and left no regrets? The choice is yours!
Personal Application
My personal experience of using this principle is the very thing you are reading. Starting this blog, putting my name and face to a brand and on social media was a very hard thing for me to do. This is all new to me, however I have been thinking about doing it for a while and always had an excuse not to start. This was until I realised I was living a life of comfort and if I ever wanted more I would have to start swinging for the fences one day. That day came for me and hopefully it comes for you to!
Conclusion
Fear is the gatekeeper to your growth. Every time you feel it, it’s a sign you’re stepping beyond the borders of your comfort zone—and that’s exactly where you need to be. Comfort feels good, but it’s a trap. It keeps you still, silent, and stuck. But when you choose to face fear head-on, you break the cycle. You move. You evolve. You win.
Inspired by the War of Art by Steven Pressfield