

Make Yourself Uncomfortable - stanleydrew
http://hellosorld.com/personal/2009/10/29/make-yourself-uncomfortable.html

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stakent
Step out of your comfort zone.

This is fundamental to start change.

If the change is positive this is another story.

~~~
brandnewlow
I have one rule that has served me well.

"When in doubt, go out."

If I ever find myself asking whether I should go to an event/party/meeting and
the alternative involves staying home, I go out. It's always the right choice.

~~~
unalone
Last year I was in a place where I hated going out. I wanted to go out but
hated the available options. This year, I found something interesting: While I
go out much more than I did last year, and always find something or other to
occupy my time, I didn't instantly become a partier. Today I left the social
gathering I went to early, and avoided a wilder party and a late-night movie.
Partly it's just that I really don't like being around people for long periods
of time. I'm not comfortable with most people I meet, and while I can handle
mixed company, it's always with a bit too much cynicism and negativity and I
don't like being the person who's known for knocking other people down.

There's a difference between being scared/incapable of going out and choosing
deliberately not to. Some people, myself included, prefer our own company to
those of others.

~~~
brandnewlow
I hear you loud and clear. I'm an introvert myself and believe that people
like us 'recharge' through quality time alone.

That said, I think it's a real handicap that can be overcome, like any other,
by consistently pushing ourselves to go out and be social in some appropriate
way, on a regular basis.

If you're making something truly cool, I guarantee there are people out there
who might not be your target audience, but might know someone who knows
someone who is. You'll never make that connection unless you go out. It sucks
but extroverts have a big advantage in these areas.

------
MindTwister
When I started my company I asked my boss from my internship what hints he had
for me, he said; "You need to have way too many expenses, it keeps you on your
edge." Ofcourse he didnt mean that as, buy $100 lunches, buy overpriced crap.
But buy the equipment, rent an office, buy what you need to buy, if you are
afraid where you'll get the money for the next months rent you'll work that
much harder to earn it.

~~~
jrockway
If I cut off my right hand, will I enjoy my left hand more, or will I just be
a cripple?

(This sounds the same.)

~~~
felixc
That's probably taking it a bit too far; but if you fund yourself by borrowing
from someone who will cut off your right hand if you fail to pay him back, you
just may work harder to make that money.

This is an old idea. From the Art of War: "At the critical moment, the leader
of an army acts like one who has climbed up a height and then kicks away the
ladder behind him. He carries his men deep into hostile territory before he
shows his hand. ... He burns his boats and breaks his cooking-pots."

------
imraj
When I left my day job, I expected to be in a uncomfortable zone and I am
luckily still in an uncomfortable zone :)

Only thing I would like to add is that uncomfortable zone is not for everyone,
I think you need to be a certain personality type to actually enjoy the
uncomfortable zone.

~~~
stanleydrew
This is perhaps true. But how would you ever know? Maybe there are people
coasting along thinking "I'm not the type of person who enjoys being
uncomfortable and I don't need to be" when in reality they're just boring or
not changing much.

~~~
jodrellblank
What's so inherently wrong with being boring or not changing much?

~~~
imraj
Not that I know much about psychology, but like Buddha said Change is the only
constant in life. Even as children, exploration is at the root of all our
instincts. Tell a child not to touch something or go near it, and he/she
definitely will. As we get older, generally most people lose this exploration
aspect of their daily lives in the face of jobs and careers. But the joy of
exploration is always there and it always comes out when you learn something
new or visit a new place, etc.

------
codedivine
Well PG said that there are 2 types of pain. Similarly there are 2 types of
uncomfortable. One needs to recognize the difference.

------
anonjon
I'm writing a blog post. I'm going to entitle it "Set Yourself On Fire". It's
gonna be all about how warm it is when you set yourself on fire.

Seriously though, isn't there a difference between taking a risk and taking a
risk that might pay off? If you're going to make yourself uncomfortable don't
do it on blind faith, have a reason for it.

