It’s human nature to avoid uncomfortable situations. That’s true in our personal lives as well as in business.
But as any successful small-business owner will attest, improving bottom-line results requires that you learn to embrace discomfort, whether it stems from a pressure-packed sales presentation, learning a new marketing tool, honing your networking skills or mentoring staff.
In the article, “Why Should You Embrace Discomfort? Opportunity, Of Course.”, courtesy of Entrepreneur, the author explains how our mental wiring makes us prone to respond to discomfort in much the same way we would an actual threat—by fleeing.
From the piece: “While our higher reasoning skills allow us to discern the difference between the threat of a saber-toothed tiger and the comparatively mild discomfort of dealing with a non-responsive customer, the primitive part of our brain registers both situations as threats, thus triggering what psychologists call the flight instinct.”
He goes on to state that successful salespeople are not “freaks of nature”; they’ve simply done what it takes to boldly confront discomfort because they understand strong business performance depends on that ability.
Easier said than done? Perhaps.
But the author also provides specific steps you can take to nurture your innate ability to push through discomfort:
1. Identify the uncomfortable moments.
2. Plan your response before you face the discomfort.
3. Rehearse.
4. Keep calm and be bold.
While those directives may seem overly simplified, I think that’s the point. Don’t overthink it.
When you know you’ll be facing an uncomfortable situation, keep things simple and have faith in your ability to rise to the occasion.
I encourage you to read the entire Entrepreneur article, which elaborates on the above points, and provides further helpful information.
Also, please share any suggestions you have for conquering discomfort in the comments section below.
As always, thanks for reading.
