People think that the biggest enemy to personal and professional growth is lack of motivation. But the true enemy of growth is not lack of motivation but rather feeling too comfortable.
We become so comfortable with things the way they are that our desire to change is minimized by our fear that the changes won’t be worth the effort. Or worse, we might screw things up instead of make the better.
When someone hits rock bottom there is no fear of things getting worse, so there is no fear of taking action. Having nothing to lose negates the fear of what might happen if you take a chance and fail. But when you have a life that is good enough to make you comfortable, the fear of making it worse becomes far stronger than your desire to make it better. What’s worse is that most people are not even truly happy with their life, they are just simply not unhappy enough to risk change.
Pain is an incredible motivator when it comes to massive action. If you want the pain to stop bad enough, you will do almost anything. But if your life isn’t truly painful, but rather just a dull ache, often that isn’t enough to spark real action.
For many, the problem isn’t that they suffer too much but that they don’t suffer enough. They don’t hit a point where they don’t care if they fail; they know something needs to be done but they would rather keep the status quo rather than risk losing the little comfort they have.
Growth requires risk. Risk makes us feel uncomfortable. But lack of growth leaves us feeling unfulfilled and stuck. So how do we continue to grow as people without upsetting the balance we’ve already managed to achieve?
I think there are different answers for different people, but in my life, I’ve found there are three main things that help:
1.) get clear about what you want out of life;
2.) be open and honest with yourself and your loved ones about how you feel and what you need;
3.) surround yourself with people who love you, support you, motivate you, and who will celebrate your success rather than be threatened by it.
I know there are more but these are three big ones for me.
So here’s to building a life you love without having to hit rock bottom to get there!
❤️
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