Discomfort Is Necessary For Your Success
"Most people will not succeed unless they are comfortable doing what they are told to do."
-Will Smith
This is likely one of the most popular quotes ever said. Our society often says that it's impossible to be successful without being happy and having an amazing life. However, this quote suggests that success and happiness can't happen at the same time. You can have one or the other. You can be the happiest person in the world and still not be successful. You can also be super depressed and still become a successful entrepreneur.
This is how it usually happens:
1) Different people are given different advice from their parents when they're growing up because there are so many things that adults want to get across to their children.
2) When you grow up, you choose which options seem to fit you better.
3) You go through life following the advice given to you and trying to be as successful as you can.
4) After a while, you're happy with how things are working out and you no longer consider pursuing another option.
5) Then your life begins to stagnate. There's no more "growth". There are less dreams and goals to achieve. The only things that motivate you become mundane: the bills, your job, and money problems.
6) This is when people tend to become less motivated because they don't feel that there's much left for them in life. It seems that the people who used to strive for their goals don't have anything else left.
The way to avoid this is to follow a different path: actively seeking out options that are new and different. This means that you should make a conscious effort to do things in life that don't have anything to do with your original plan. You need to be open-minded, and you need to explore other options. You have to be uncomfortable.
You need to seek out new challenges, both personally and professionally. It's not enough for you just feel comfortable having a job in which you're happy every day of the week; it's not enough for you only want a career where there are no problems; it's not enough for you just want an environment where there is no stress or negativity all around you all the time. You need to be uncomfortable, and you need to look for opportunities that will push you out of your comfort zone.
If you'll just focus on what's comfortable in your life and will settle for that, you're only setting yourself up for failure. You need something more challenging in order to avoid stagnation. Otherwise, you're just going through the same motions every day and not growing or developing as a person.
You see, there are people who look at the world through rose-colored glasses; they only focus on the positive aspects of their life and the things that make them comfortable. In the end, they lose that sense of fulfillment and purpose in life. This is why it's vital for you to actively seek out challenges. In order to do that, you'll have to be able to say "no".
The idea of saying "no" is often scary for most people because they think that saying no means having less options. They think it means losing opportunities and maybe even missing out on something really amazing. However, this couldn't be further from the truth.
If you want to avoid the comfort trap, you need to say "yes" and "no" at the same time. All you have to do is shut down all options that are not for your benefit and that will just waste your time. You can always open back up those doors later if you decide that it's something important, but you have to be able to say no while they're closed in order for them to stay closed.
You need to focus on what really matters in life: your goals and your dreams. You have to make sure that those things are still fulfilling and motivating for you. You also need to be comfortable with the options that are available. You need to focus on making choices that will help you achieve your goals and dreams as fast as possible.
Think of your goals and dreams as a burning fire. When you throw a piece of wood on it, the fire burns up that wood faster than if it was thrown onto ground that's wet and soft. This is because the wood is now lit by the flame, creating heat and light all around it. So, if you want to focus your life so that nothing is wasted, be willing to look for options that are different from what's comfortable for you. This way, you won't waste time on things that aren't beneficial to your success or happiness in life. You'll be able to prioritize what's essential.
If you do this, you'll easily see how success and happiness are not mutually exclusive. You can have both of them at the same time: being successful in life and being happy about it. All you have to do is follow a different path, one that will make you more uncomfortable in the short-term but more successful in the long run. So next time something new comes your way, tell yourself to just say yes no matter what.
3. "The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously."
-Margaret Thatcher
I personally think that this quote is something that most people forget. There's a general belief that just because you're allowed to tell your opinion or say something, it will automatically be taken into deep consideration. However, the reality is that we need to earn the right to be respected by others.
That's why there are situations in life where you can't just say anything you want to; you have to think about what your words mean and how they sound before you actually say them out loud.
You see, a lot of people say stupid, offensive things to try and make a point. Most people hear this and immediately think back to all the unnecessary fights they've had with other people. Our passionate thoughts often go too far and we end up saying things we don't really mean because we were too emotional. Then, we learn our lesson and can't believe how stupid what we said was.
We need to be more mindful about our words before saying them. We need to take the time to think about what we're saying before actually saying it out loud; otherwise, our statements will sound ridiculous in retrospect, especially when you consider all of the other things you could have said instead.
Conclusion
When you're communicating with other people, you want to make sure that your words are meaningful and that they actually mean something. Otherwise, you might just be adding to the echo chamber effect in today's society.
If you'll always remember this quote, then you won't have these problems; it will help you become a better and more meaningful communicator in life. Your words should be carefully chosen instead of spewing out of your mouth without using any brainpower to think about them first. This way, your statements will have a lot more weight than if you said them lightly or thoughtlessly.
"You miss 100% of the shots you never take.