Good is the enemy of great.
It’s true, one of the main reasons people plateau in life is because they get comfortable.
Not so comfortable that they’re kicking back in banana lounges sipping margaritas, but comfortable enough to stop pushing their limits.
Comfort zones are tricky things. They tend to sap desire and cause people to go into cruise mode.
When your back is against the wall, when there is NO option, people will do whatever it takes. Like Chris Gardener. Chris’s true story was told in the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, where he was played by actor Will Smith.
In the movie, Gardener is competing for a position in a brokerage firm where he has to complete an unpaid internship where only one position is offered to the more than 30 candidates competing for the job.
The film shows how he goes from being homeless with his young son for almost a year, to becoming a broker and eventually building a multi-million-dollar business.
Closer to home, my father-law was out of home at 13 and lived with a foster family. He decided at that young age that he was going to create a different life for himself.
Remarkably, he put a deposit on his first piece of land at age 14 and was a millionaire by the time he reached 30.
When confronted by a challenge, people will either step up or step back.
Human beings are creatures of habit. They tend to do what is comfortable rather than do what will produce the best results.
At the Marketers Club, we call this ‘The Warm Bath Syndrome’, when people get trapped doing what’s comfortable instead of important.
People complain they don’t have enough time, yet they find time to watch hours of TV instead of reading a book that could help them grow.
They don’t have enough money to invest in their own development, but they buy lunch each day, a case of beer at night and play the pokies.
If you want to breakthrough to new levels of performance, you will have to abandon your comfort zone and stretch yourself.
You’ll know when you have, because it will feel a little awkward and uncomfortable. When you start feeling that way, you should get excited because that means you are growing.
So, maybe it’s time for a cold shower instead of a warm bath. Perhaps it’s time to abandon comfortable and explore something new.
Remember, as Oliver Wendell once said, “A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”
You deserve more, but to get it you’re going to have to stretch a little.
If you never saw The Pursuit of Happyness, here’s the trailer. Do yourself a favour and check it out.