The quote “Comfort makes cowards of us all” was something I read in Michael Gerber’s book, “The E-Myth” that outlines why most small businesses don’t work.  He was talking about how if we stay with what’s comfortable and never try new things or innovate we will not grow. And if you’re not growing, you’re dying.

The “Get out of your comfort zone” theme has been coming at me from all directions lately. I went to a Jen Sincero (author of “You are a Badass” and “You are a Badass at Making Money”) book signing and she said if she had two pieces of advice to become as successful as we desire it’s

1. Hire a coach and

2. Get uncomfortable every day.

Celebrity trainer Billy Beck was a keynote speaker at a mastermind meeting of fitness business owners that I attended some years ago and I found my notes from his presentation when I was cleaning out my desk the other day. He explained that excellence was not something far far away and unattainable but just outside your comfort zone. It’s right… there… You just have to get uncomfortable and do the things that make you grow. Then you can get a little further out next time. Before you know it, you’re changing the world.

We are not put here to be average. We are put here to make a difference and do great things. We cannot do great things if we don’t take calculated risks and get out of our comfort zone.

Imagine a bird when it’s time to leave the nest. It can’t be comfortable or easy to jump out of the only life you have known to use your own wings to explore a whole new world. But what if they didn’t? There would be no birds!

One thing that has required growth and getting out of my comfort zone are all my “firsts” in sobriety. You can either jump into all your firsts quickly or spend lots of time and energy worrying about them instead of ripping off the Band-aid. The first family holiday, the first date, the first Super Bowl party… I know those sound like simple and easy events but to me, it was a BIG DEAL to do those things without the crutch of alcohol. You know what? After the initial discomfort the first time, it’s wasn’t a big deal the next. It reminds me of procrastinating all day on a task that takes 10 minutes to complete. Just do it and get it out of the way and all that time and energy can be spent on more productive uses of your time. Take that step out of the comfort zone instead of wasting time and energy being fearful of trying something new. Discomfort is temporary. No one ever died of embarrassment.

Are you worried about getting back into the gym because people will look at you strangely? Do you not want to start an at-home routine because you’re afraid you’ll be sore the first time? So what if these things happen? They are temporary. The positive change in the way you feel about yourself is well worth the temporary discomfort of getting started.