
What are you doing to feel uncomfortable? - joelg87
http://joel.is/post/6211105959/what-are-you-doing-to-feel-uncomfortable
======
rkalla
A non-sequitur. I assumed this was another "Joel on Software" blogpost,
because of the name... I read the article, all seemed inline with something
Joel would write, then got the end and though "Goddamn... the last 2 weeks at
the gym have been kind to Joel."

Then I realized it was two separate Joel's.

As for the article, any commitments on the diet front? Do you find if you
commit to too many new routines (gym, eating, sleeping, working, being
productive) you run out of will-power-gas before the day is out, making it
harder to pickup the commitments the following day?

This relates to the "How to get important things done" article from a few
weeks ago: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2582913>

and the ensuing willpower discussion I think. Would like to hear your thoughts
on that.

~~~
joelg87
Haha, I could only hope to achieve even half of what Joel Spolsky has :)

I've previously written about how I created my sleep ritual
(<http://joel.is/post/5303723252/creating-a-sleep-ritual>) and what you
mention about committing to too many routines has been key for me. I'd say
that is the reason I've not managed it until now and also the reason I've
managed to put a decent routine in place now and I'm able to keep adjusting it
and improving it.

I think the key is to adjust one thing at a time until it becomes a "ritual"
we are pulled towards rather than a "routine" which we force ourselves to do.
At first, I got up at 6am and went to the gym at 6:30. Over time, I've
gradually got up earlier and earlier so that now I am starting to get up at
4:30am and have 1.5hrs of productive work time before I go to the gym. I've
also adjusted my exercise routine at the gym whereas before just getting there
was hard enough.

I don't do a whole lot in terms of diet right now, however I want to soon when
the current routine becomes more comfortable.

The article you mention is written by Tony Schwartz who I've mentioned in my
post, and I can't recommend his book "The Power of Full Engagement" enough.
The two main things I took away from it were the importance of renewal (I now
break up my day with various activities, such as the gym, meals, or reading a
book for 20 minutes) and relating tasks to my core values (this is related to
Simon Sinek's "Start with Why").

------
spaghetti
interviewing at startups despite past rejections, bidding on and winning
freelance projects despite flakey clients in the past, competing in coding
competitions despite the fact I'm not highly ranked, quitting a lucrative
full-time job to pursue my own interests and grow as a person. Sometimes the
above lead to uncomfortable feelings. However the mental and spiritual growth
upsides always out-weigh the downsides.

------
rmason
Mixergy has an interview this week with James Altucher who coincidentally
provided some of the same advice. When his company crashed after the bubble he
started an exercise routine and forced himself to start getting up at 6:30 am
every day as he started a new business.

He also spoke of making himself uncomfortable as he reached out daily to
people he didn't know in search of customers.

------
sown
Devil's Advocate:

What if I keep trying new things that make me uncomfortable but all I do is
fail with no sign of improvement?

~~~
dgallagher
Love the question. :) A few ideas:

    
    
        - You're not putting in enough effort.
        - You give up and move onto the next thing too quickly.
        - You're stretching yourself too far beyond your current abilities.
        - You're not analyzing, criticizing, and actively improving yourself well enough.
        - You're lacking in useful resources, such as good books or a good mentor to 
          help you overcome hurdles.
        - You're picking things merely because they're uncomfortable and cannot be 
          improved upon (e.g. sitting on a knife).

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erikpukinskis
Fiona Apple's song _Extraordinary Machine_ , off the homonymous album, tells
the same story:

 _"he's no good at being uncomfortable, so he can't stop staying exactly the
same"_

I don't think I've listened to a more instructive lyrical album than that one.
But your mileage may vary.

~~~
khafra
s/homonymous/eponymous

Good observation, though--I thought the same when I heard that song for the
first time.

~~~
erikpukinskis
Doesn't eponymous mean that it's named after the band? Homonymous in this case
means the album has the same name as the song -- Extraordinary Machine.

Also, you're missing a trailing slash. :)

------
zzeroparticle
I can really identify with the sentiments lined in this post as one of the
things I've added to my life is trying to learn the piano, an instrument which
seemed all but impossible since I'm not a very coordinated person, especially
when playing with both hands.

So far, I'm two weeks into it and progress has been surprising. Sure, I have
difficulty getting both hands to work together, but it's coming together
rather nicely and my brain is getting a workout as it's trying to coordinate
the two hands. Add to that the confidence it gives me in not only approaching
a task where I can potentially fail, but transforming those failures into the
grit and determination to succeed. I can definitely see this learning process
paying back through the confidence it gives me.

------
rikthevik
I did my first (short) triathlon today! I was pretty nervous getting there
this morning, but everyone involved was awesome, and some friends showed up to
cheer me on. It turned out great, and now I'm looking for the next big
challenge.

------
markbao
Absolutely agree with this. If you aren't scared, you're being too comfortable
and not reaching for heights that are incredibly difficult but radically
rewarding.

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snoopy41
In agreement with the article. Without bringing about an internal conflict,
there can be no mental or spiritual growth.

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systemizer
I completely agree with this statement. True intelligence is self-discipline,
and it takes discipline to understand that you won't grow unless you try out
new things. And oftentimes, these new things will make you feel uncomfortable.

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coliveira
Nice ideas, but I feel that the examples are a little too basic: speaking and
exercising are what I consider to be indispensable for everyone, almost
something like brushing your teeth in the morning.

~~~
uncomfortable
I'm having a problem where I've challenged myself so much in little ways and
built myself up so far, that in order to improve past this point, I see
extremely huge frightening tasks in my future. Past the point of discomfort, I
am looking at staggering terror ahead. (I wish I could elaborate, but
unfortunately I have to keep my current situation to myself.) I guess in terms
of public speaking, it would be the equivalent of addressing an audience of a
million, as opposed to a hundred.

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ballard
Scrappy broke startups are uncomfortable, not so much by choice, but
necessity.

------
PaulHoule
don't feel uncomfortable because you just want to feel uncomfortable... feel
uncomfortable because you want to win the big prize... train like Rocky!

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JabavuAdams
I didn't shower today or yesterday, or the day before. I really need to
shower, but I'm hacking now.

