Editor’s note: Paul Kirch is CEO of Actus Sales Intelligence, a Fort Worth, Texas, business and sales consulting agency, and Actus-360, a technology services providor. He can be reached at 214-295-6111 or at pkirch@actussales.com.
Are you comfortable? Who doesn't want to be comfortable? Not me. That's right. I don't want to be comfortable. Do you ever wake up under warm covers and just want to go back to sleep? Maybe you hit the snooze button or maybe you just shut your alarm off altogether. It's not comfortable to get up and start moving. Comfort is a crutch. It's what creates ruts, or, as a friend once told me, it's how you even dig your own grave. Change, progress, growth ... these things don't happen in moments of comfort. They happen when you step out of your comfort zone and do something new. What holds most people back? Procrastination for one: it's a lack of clarity and it is embracing or seeking comfort. Fear-avoidance is also focused on comfort. So, I encourage you to recognize when you're comfortable and do something about it. Who wants to be uncomfortable? I do.
I posted a version of the above on Facebook as a message to inspire others to see that being comfortable prevents them from achieving the success they believe they want. How does this apply to sales? If you’ve ever spent any time cold-calling, seeking comfort means not doing it. Seeking comfort means not making multiple attempts to reach the prospect or client you really want to work with. Comfortable sales professionals are often not strong salespeople. Those who embrace discomfort are the ones who are more able to accept rejection, while picking up the phone to make the next call. The easy road often leads to poor results.
Sure, we all want to feel comfortable but while many are taking advantage of work avoidance, hungrier individuals are winning business due to their perseverance. While it appears that many of these sales professionals may appear more aggressive or thicker-skinned, they are just comfortable being uncomfortable. This doesn’t mean you can’t love what you do or that you must be unhappy when embracing this mind-set. It simply means when you start to feel like you’re not pushing yourself, it’s time to get even more aggressive.
I believe it’s true in life that being relaxed is a recipe for apathy and limited growth. This doesn’t mean there’s no room for rest, relaxation and downtime. We all deserve a break and are entitled to time away from work. However, we live in a world full of entitlement and one person’s idea of work ethic may be different than the next. Seeking comfort becomes an addictive concept for many.
But there are certain realities we all face. For example, when I return from vacation I struggle to get moving and find myself needing to ease back into things. After all, going from the extreme of being 100-percent focused on business and then going away where there’s only a small focus on work makes it hard to shift back into gear. One strategy I’ve embraced is to set goals for my first few days back and aggressively attack those goals while also peppering in some me time. For example, after the holidays, I started my mornings in Starbucks doing some planning instead of just rushing to the office. This allows me to gain momentum and embrace being uncomfortable in a productive way.
Here are some ways to focus and embrace being uncomfortable:
• Set clear goals: Goals are things you want to accomplish. They must be clearly defined, be measurable and have a deadline associated with them. Try setting goals that require you to be uncomfortable to achieve them. If it’s going to push you, then it’s going to keep you focused on the hard work or dedication required. It may not be comfortable but goals that require no effort are pointless or at least are not going to provide very much growth.
• Plan for your life and business: Throughout my tenure in sales, I always built a yearly sales plan. It wasn’t something for the companies I worked for but a plan for me. I would review those plans regularly and adjust accordingly. If you build a plan and never look at it again, it’s not going to drive you. However, if you leverage the three key elements to the process – plan, review and implement – you can transform your life and approach.
• Stop hitting snooze: I understand how comfortable that bed feels but there is a reason they say, “The early bird gets the worm.” I love to sleep in as much as the next person but I’m most productive on days where I jump out of bed early and start my day strong. It’s not comfortable to do it. If you emulate successful people, they are rarely snoozers. Get up and go!
• Get physical: I recently dropped 45 pounds, which happened through hard work. I put that weight on by embracing comfort. I lost it by being uncomfortable. Losing weight isn’t just about looking better. You gain energy, vitality and stamina – all of which will help you succeed.
• Stand up: I invested in a desk which allows me to stand at work. It’s electric, so it can lower for tasks that are easier to do while sitting. If I sit all day, I become fatigued and lethargic. Standing increases blood flow and keeps my energy up. It isn’t always comfortable standing all day but it has changed the way I work in so many positive ways.
• Push forward: Throughout the day, I focus on where I am in terms of comfort. If I’m feeling like I’m relaxed or distracted, I try to change things. I haven’t always owned this perspective but since implementing it I have found myself growing in so many ways.
The concept of discomfort is not meant to be torturous or a negative. Instead, it’s meant to act as a reminder to get moving when you’re feeling too relaxed. In these moments, you’re likely not growing to the extent you are able to. Progress requires one to push out of the comfort zone. It’s in those moments that amazing things can happen. For many salespeople, picking up the phone and calling after a strong rejection may be a challenge. However, it’s often when the next opportunity presents itself. Those who can push through, despite feeling frustrated or uneasy, find success around the corner.
Let me ask the question again: Who wants to be comfortable? It’s not wrong if you still say that you do. It’s human nature to desire comfort. Just recognize that while you’re busy being taking it easy on yourself, someone else is embracing discomfort in order to achieve victory. In my business, when things seem easy or I’m no longer challenged, it’s time to recognize that I’m heading toward a potential rut. It’s time to push myself. Transformations and growth happen when you are pushed to areas and emotions which may not be familiar. It’s about being challenged. When you combine the first and last three letters of the word challenge, you get the word change. Stop relaxing and go focus on positive change. Don’t settle for comfortable.
If you’d like to learn more, please feel free to reach out to me at pkirch@actussales.com.