by Nikki Bauer, Express Employment Professionals, Licensed Realtor with Ruhl & Ruhl, and YP Co-Director of Signature Events

How do you do it? How do you get comfortable with being uncomfortable? Two simple words: you don’t.

It sounds contradictory, right? That’s because it is.

Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is setting priorities for yourself. It is not letting others dictate where you are going but allowing yourself to choose where you want to go. Personal and professional growth starts with taking risks, even if those are small.

So, where can you start if you’re looking to make small strides in that direction?

What I prefer to do is take small risks every single day that I wouldn’t voluntarily do. And trust me, it’s hard. It’s not comfortable and even gives me a hint of anxiety. But that is the point. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone can lead to many things you never thought possible.

What does that look like?

• It could be as simple as sitting alone in a restaurant over lunch.
• It could be picking up a phone to make that cold call or asking someone they don’t know to coffee. (My personal favorite)
• It could be speaking up in a board meeting, a work meeting, or just in your own
• It could even be as simple as wearing that great new dress or shoes you bought on a whim and haven’t had the nerve to wear in public yet.

What I’m getting at is that we’re never going to be comfortable all the time in life. That’s the beauty and chaos of it all. We can plan, prioritize, and try to control as much as humanly possible, but when we really succeed is when we let go.

So let go of trying to feel comfortable all the time.
Go to that event alone.
Sit at a restaurant alone.
Make that phone call or coffee date.
Wear the dress or the shoes!

Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is getting used to situations out of your comfort zone and actively pursuing interests, activities, or social settings that are out of your norm. Stretch your limits and learn from that. Growth never came from a comfort zone, that I assure you.

Nobody is truly fearless, but we can always try to fear less.