By Milentina Marcus
We often avoid putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations, even if we know that success is on the other side. I believe that life begins at the end of the comfort zone, and in order to reach our potential, we must face some life challenges to make us evolve from the comfort zone.
You can create your own tests to understand and learn more about yourself and your capabilities.
My journey with comfortability
For me, I discovered how powerful I am from the most uncomfortable situations.
From an early age, I adopted a growth mindset by challenging myself. I left the comfort of my parents’ home to continue my Economics studies on the other side of the country. I learned so much about being tolerant. I had to figure out solutions by myself for every difficult situation, including a toxic relationship that lasted for two years that affected my school results, my social life, and my self-esteem.
It was the starting point of building myself as an independent woman, making the decision to discover and learn more about my power, and always relying on my ability to find a solution and rise from any difficult situation. It helped me on my journey to becoming successful in my corporate career and afterwards, in my own business.
This is a simple example of how a choice to challenge myself and stepinh out of my comfort zone defined my entire life.
Don’t wait to be pushed, but adopt a growth mindset. Here are five tips to help you become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
- ADOPT A GROWING MINDSET
There are great questions we should ask ourselves in our lifetime and one of them is questioning your next step . When you complete a project or task, you should adopt the habit of asking yourself “WHAT’S NEXT?”.
This will stimulate more creativity and help you find better solutions for the future of your business and your life. You will discover a myriad of options that will help you make better choices and as a result, lead to progress.
A good question can open the doors for a new and better path.
- OVERCOME THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
Your comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there. The fear of the unknown is the biggest obstacle when it comes to facing challenges. As Nelson Mandela said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it”.
Accepting a challenge means stepping into an unknown situation, and this is scary for many people. But what remains constant is your ability to find solutions and become resourceful in any new situation. Test this ability and trust it.
The concept of a ‘comfort zone’ may equate to pleasure and ease . But, another perspective is that both the comfortable and the uncomfortable have pain and pleasure moments. It all depends on what you focus on. For example, remaining in your comfort zone can still generate pain like doubting yourself because of not living your dreamed life, and not being able to create an impact as big as you want.
It’s the same concept with challenges. Discover the joy in any challenge you have, whether that’s meeting new great people and expanding your relationships, learning new abilities or increasing your confidence.
When you are faced with a challenge, ask yourself what is the best and the worst thing that can happen if you take that new challenge. It will bring more clarity and will give you more power to accept new challenges.
- START WITH THE END RESULT
Why should you have the courage to accept new challenges? If you start with the end result in your mind, you will be more motivated to accept them. As it is said: NO PAIN, NO GAIN. Set your mind to be prepared that reaching a new objective comes with a set of new challenges.
If we use reverse engineering, looking at the process from the end to the start, you will have a better understanding of which challenges will bring you closer to your objective.
- TIME MANAGEMENT AND FEELING YOUR FEELINGS
Eight years ago, I understood that if I continued to work for a corporation, I would not be happy, and from then I began looking for a way to start my own business.
One of the most uncomfortable situations in my entire life was to build my own business whilst working a full-time job. For two years, I faced chaos in my life, trying to do my stressful job, whilst learning and building a new business in a new industry. I experienced so many contradictory feelings, and the best lesson I learned was the value of every minute and how to use my time more efficiently. I learned about time management, how to prioritise aspects better, how to fall, and how to get up quickly as I didn’t have time to waste.
From excitement to fear, from joy and gratitude to sadness, for every failure, have in your mind that every challenge comes with a mix of feelings. Take some time to feel what you feel. This could come in the form of meditation or journaling. If you’d rather write down what you feel, it can be a therapeutic and cathartic experience.
When you feel and share your feelings, you may also be able to see your situation in a new light.
- OVERCOME NEGATIVITY AND SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE
Successful people believe in a simple notion: You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Just as great people help you to reach your full potential, toxic people drag you right down with them.
“You’ll never reach your peak until you surround yourself with the right people.”
This is a good moment to take an inventory of the people you are surrounded with. Set some limits and distance yourself from negative people and surround yourself with people who are talking about future plans, new challenges, and encourage you to become bigger in life and business.
Discover your challenges
Learning how to deal with challenges takes time, persistence, and a positive attitude. Every challenge is a part of your growth! With the right mindset and practice, you will be able to overcome them and grow in the process!
What’s the next challenge you are going to take?
About Milentina Marcus
For twelve years, Milentina Marcus worked in the corporate world (purchasing and supply chain area). Whilst working up the corporate ladder she witnessed burnout and unhappiness due to long business hours/trips. During one of her last business trips with her company in Asia, she asked herself; what’s next? That one question shifted her new life and career.
Six years ago she became a John Maxwell certified coach, speaker, and trainer. She is now the founder of her own business in the health and wellness industry, whilst building a sales organisation of more than 12,000 clients and partners in Europe, Asia, and North America.
