We are creatures of comfort. We like comfort. When we’re comfortable, we feel content. These are the positive aspects of comfort.
But if we’re not careful, striving just to be comfortable will more than likely mean striving to be mediocre.
We get the most out of ourselves when we push ourselves past our comfort zone. The only way to get better is by mastering the old while still experiencing the new. We have to fall down to get back up. We need to face our fears and overcome adversity. The more we learn to handle, the more unbreakable we make ourselves.
So while we aim for comfort for a little while, just make sure you’re not staying there too long. Get comfortable being uncomfortable and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish.
“Consistent, hard work gains success.” – Dwayne Johnson
There is a quote attributed to Aristotle that says, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”
Excellence, success, greatness…these are things to strive for, but you don’t achieve any of them with a single action. They come with consistent action towards your goals. Set goals, review them daily, and decide what are the most important actions you need to take today to bring you a little (or a lot) closer to your goals. What habits do you need to have in place?
A lot of us (myself included) get caught up with wanting to learn more. Learning is great. Gaining more knowledge is great. But it won’t get you anywhere near success if you don’t apply that knowledge and turn it into action. Don’t confuse reading with taking action towards your goals…yes, it could give you a good foundation. It can help you avoid making the same mistakes that others have made, but often we lie to ourselves saying that we are preparing to take action, when really we’re procrastinating.
Take consistent action everyday. Live purposely. Act intentionally. Success, excellence, and greatness will come if you are consistent with your actions, but if you’re not, you’ll miss the opportunity when it’s here.
To be great, you have to be consistent. You have to be disciplined. You may have natural talent/ability, but without nurturing it and growing it through consistent effort, you will never achieve true greatness.
Do you think LeBron James or Michael Jordan were born with gifts that you and I don’t have? Yes. That’s how the world works. Everyone is different. But they also worked tirelessly for years on end, spent millions of dollars investing in their bodies to help strengthen them, honed their craft with hours in the gym, etc. They had natural ability, but so do a lot of other guys in the NBA. It was their consistent, focused effort over many years that helped them become the greatest of all time.
While it is easy to think of sports as the best analogy here, it applies to everything we do in life. Want to be better at your job? What actions are you taking daily to train to become the best? Do you role play scenarios with other team members? Do you take continuing education classes? Do you read about specific subjects to help you or watch “how to” videos?
You don’t improve the most by going to a weeklong seminar once per year and then not doing anything else until next year’s seminar. You improve the most by taking small, focused actions every single day, always building upon the previous day.
What actions are you willing to take to achieve greatness – not today, and not tomorrow, but five, ten, or twenty years from now? Are you able to look at the big picture and base your decisions on that instead of what feels good today? Do you have the discipline to repeat the monotonous actions (slightly/slowly improving over time)? If you want to be mediocre, that’s fine. You can live a good life coasting through it. But if you want to achieve greatness, you have to endure many unheroic days to reach some heroic decades in the future…
“Nothing is great unless it’s also at peace.” – Seneca
Outward greatness can be deceiving. Someone can be the best at what they do but have inner demons that none of us would want. We wouldn’t trade our life for theirs.
Think of Antonio Brown…possibly the best WR in the NFL just over a year ago, probably even a top 5 or top 10 WR of all-time. But within the past 12-18 months, despite being an elite NFL receiver, he has been cut or traded from three teams. In a league that has a short season (16 games compared to 82 for basketball or 162 for baseball), that prioritizes winning above all else, three teams have moved on from a tremendous talent because of his inner demons. This goes to show that no matter how great you are (or think you are), there’s more to it than just being good at what you’re paid to do.
Do not be envious of others who only know how to excel at their job. You have to look at the whole picture. Are they still a good family member, friend, teammate/co-worker, and citizen? Do they have peace in their life? If so, that person might be a great role model or mentor. If not, don’t mistake their performance at work as overall greatness.
