ENTERING THE ZONE OF DISCOMFORT

In the motivating book, 'Masters of Success: Proven Techniques for Achieving Success in Business & Life', edited by Ivan Misner & Don Morgan, I have spotted a fascinating article that resonates by one contributer, Nancy Holland Morgan, a two-time Olympic competitor once ranked among the world's top ten skiers.

In her article, entitled "7 Commonalities of Champions", she listed out as follows:

1) Enthusiasm about the event;

2) Commitment to learning & fundamentals;

3) Pursuit of goals, objectives & plans;

4) Tenacity;

5) A personal network;

6) Zone of Discomfort;

7) Personal marketing & self-promotion;

Additionally, this is what she wrote about the "Zone of Discomfort", which piques my personal attention:

"Do something every day that scares you just a little - not something that is life threatening, but something that causes enough discomfort that you will become accustomed to pushing the envelope of your performance.

Get to love your zone of discomfort. Being in the discomfort zone means that we are in awkward phase of learning a new skill or strategy to keep us achieving a higher level of performance.

Human nature wants to stay with the comfort zone, but doing so will only keep us in the status quo.

To move forward, we must enter our zone of discomfort at least a little & in progressive steps. With each awkward step, we get just a little better.

The next time you feel awkward, understand that you have been given the opportunity of learning to increase a strength. Feeling a little awkward is a natural outcome of gaining new strengths.

Some people seem to move in & out of the discomfort zone more easily. This is generally either because they have more experience living in the zone of discomfort or they have learned to fake it better than others."

The foregoing writing reminds me of "Danger in the Comfort Zone", which also happens to the title of a wonderful book by management consultant Judith Bardwick, in which she talked about "earning mentality" vs. "entitlement mentality". To me, "earning mentality" is essentially proactive self-leadership.

Entering the "Zone of Discomfort" is one physical manifestation of proactive self-leadership.

In retrospection, it was my desire to enter the "Zone of Discomfort" that I had left the corporate world during the early nineties after twenty-four years to "follow my bliss" ~ to do what I love & love what I do.

Otherwise, I would still be working in quiet desperation, so to speak, & even if I had won, I would still end up as a rat. That thought was really discomforting.

By the way, have you entered your "Zone of Discomfort"?

SO YOU WANT TO SURVIVE & THRIVE IN THE 21ST CENTURY...

Here are some interesting stuff I wrote to myself in my idea scratch-pad about two decades ago, just as I left the corporate world to follow my dreams. I had in fact posted them (an expanded version) on the Amazon website under my profile.

In essence, I have used them as my guiding principles for operating "in the future".

Somehow, they still seem relevant today. Glad to share with readers.

1) Always establish a definite purpose or principal objective in whatever you do;

2) Invest in self-directed life-long learning;

3) Stay ahead & embrace change;

4) Be curious & always ask questions;

5) Constantly challenge your assumptions & expand your habitual domain;

6) It's OK to be skeptical, but don't be afraid to play, explore & experiment with new &/or weird ideas.

7) Get out of your comfort zone & take some risks;

8) Network with people who demand more of you;

9) Take personal responsibility for your life;

10) Always think about new ideas;

11) Don't just talk only, take action;

12) Stay focused on your goals, but be flexible in your approach;

13) Remain persistent;

PROACTIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING

Here's an interesting article about monitoring your strategic plan in anticipation of emerging marketplace shifts, from Cary Silverstein, president & CEO of Strategic Management Associates.

In the article, he offers four key methods:

- premise control;

- implementation control;

- strategic surveillance; &

- special alert control;