Will You Choose Courage or Comfort?

“Comfort is the enemy of progress.” ~ PT Barnum

I was in a yoga class recently and the instructor asked us to ponder the question, “Will you choose courage or comfort today?” She left it open ended… and since it was the beginning of the class, it would be easy to assume she was just talking about our physical effort for the class. But of course, you know me… I took it much farther than that. Because the truth is, you could literally ask that question for every instance, decision or action in your life.

As class continued, my thoughts went inward, and I had an aha moment that led to a shift for me, which reignited my desire and passion for progress. So, I wanted to share it with you, just in case you need a little nudge to push you out of your comfort zone too.   

Now first, let me just say that being comfortable isn’t always a bad thing. We as humans are usually striving for comfort in some way. But it’s when being comfortable gets uncomfortable that we must recognize we are stuck and challenge ourselves to make a change if we want to progress.

For example, think about how great it feels to get into bed at night. You nestle in and get comfortable. Which is great for the night, to renew and reenergize for the next day. But what if you just stayed there, lying in bed all night, all day, every day, in that same position – after a while, you’d start to get stiff, sore and very uncomfortable. Your body was not meant to just stay in one spot like that. In order to thrive, you need movement. You need change. And you need to challenge yourself for more.  

Now think about how this applies to your life…

It’s easy to get comfortable, and you like that feeling of comfort, so you stay where you are. But then after a while, you feel this restlessness inside because you know you are meant for more but the fear of getting uncomfortable in trying something new or challenging yourself keeps you from taking action. So instead, you find yourself stuck in the same routine, the same rut. Even though it doesn’t feel good… even though being comfortable isn’t comfortable anymore. You stay because you don’t have the courage to step out of that comfort zone. But as our quote today so simply puts it, comfort is the enemy of progress. You can’t make progress or reach your full potential if you always stay where you are comfortable.

So, why do so many people stay where they are, even when it becomes uncomfortable? Well, the simple answer – they are choosing their perceived comfort over courage. There is fear in doing something new, different, or challenging. And often the pain they fear is that it will be hard, impossible, or end in failure – essentially, they fear it will be more uncomfortable then staying where they are. They chose their perceived comfort over courage. The courage to try the new thing. The courage to challenge themselves to see how far they can go or how great their potential might be. The courage that creates progress. The courage that creates success.   

So, I thought to myself… what would happen if I consciously and consistently chose courage over comfort? And this is where my big shift came in. I decided to do a little experiment on it… and guess what happened?

For the past few weeks, every time I’ve been faced with an opportunity to choose comfort or courage, I’ve chosen courage. And you know what has happened? It’s been amazing! So many great new experiences and opportunities are showing up. I am making progress and finding greater success in areas that I didn’t even know I had gotten comfortable in. I am challenging myself – and am once again, seeing the results of pushing my potential for more. It has been hard and scary at times. Or should I say, it has felt uncomfortable at times… like major uncomfortable sometimes. But I’ve been choosing courage and it’s making a huge difference. Not only in the outcomes I’m getting (cause not everything works out exactly as planned – that’s life) but mostly in how I feel about myself. I have been reminded of just how courageous I can be and just how good that feels.    

So now it’s your turn… think about where in your life you are choosing comfort over courage? Then commit to getting uncomfortable… you just might surprise yourself with what you are capable of and no matter the outcomes, you will certainly be proud of yourself for the progress and the courage you gain.

Will you choose courage or comfort today? Sign up for a KickStart Strategy Session and start choosing courage every day!