Getting used to feeling uncomfortable is important if your going to grow. What is your discomfort zone.. ? For me that is public speaking even though I do it quite a bit for small groups as part of my sales job. However there’s certain audiences that can cause me to be more stressed than others. Learning online marketing is another area that I’m uncomfortable. What does that look like.. ? Well doing personal video marketing is one area where thinking of yourself as an expert in front of the unknown public that can view your video is a bit unnerving to say the least. I know I’m not the only person that has this consideration when putting a video on social media.
How do you create a simple plan to move yourself more in the path of discomfortable growth oriented activities?
One strategy is to embark on 30 day challenges. I’ve done this with a few things like daily exercise and meditation. With exercise I found a gym near my child’s carpool drop off so that after the drop I just head straight to the gym. For meditation I chose the Calm app to go on a 30 day meditation challenge. So far so good.. I’m at day 28. I’m thinking of posting 1 photo per day to my instagram to promote this website per day. They are smaller but useful ideas to build on. Here are some other good ideas for challenges.
1. Financial: Most of us need to watch our spending. Save $500 in the next 30 days. Earn an extra $1000 in the next 30 days. Pay off a certain bill. Stop shopping online. Pack lunch each day.. or Stop dining out.
2. Declutter: Most of us own too much stuff. Get rid of 30 trash bags full of itemsKeep your desk clean and clutter-freeList 5 items for sale online every dayFind 3 items to donate every dayIdentify one small area to clean each day (closet, junk drawer, cabinet, etc)
3. Sign up for a public speaking course. Enough said.
4. Social interaction: Send a thank you note to someone. Invite a co-worker or friend for coffee. Speak to a stranger. Compliment someone. Practice saying no to things you don't actually want to do.
5. Write 300 words every day
6. Read a chapter every day
Keep in mind that changing our habits and routines is difficult.. your mind will fight you on this, but if you bring the size of the actions smaller then writing a sentence a day or reading 2 pages in a book won’t feel as difficult but will build upon itself. This year I am specifically setting aside $5000 to invest in things that I see as difficult but that I think will help me grow. These include a speaking course, a online business marketing event, business networking and a business contest.
