You must resist the urge to give in to comfort.
(Which is not always easy. We are programmed to seek comfort.)
Our lizard brains tell us our survival relies on maintaining the status quo, yet our instincts tell us that the status quo is WHACK.
For this reason, pursuing your big dreams is diametrically opposed to the comfort we’ve been socialized with, in most ways.
Going your own way will provoke the discomfort of…
- The side eye from friends and family as you go against the grain and challenge norms. Norms like gender roles (women shouldn’t be breadwinners) or the “security” of a steady paycheck (where you’ll likely experience glass ceilings, pay disparity, and mansplaining)…
- “There are also no guarantees.” No guaranteed time off, sick days, weekly paycheck, bonus, or corner office. There are no guarantees that this is going to work out—especially no guarantees that you won’t give up on yourself. There are no guarantees that you won’t be working out of your closet or on your couch as your two year old runs around with his diaper on his head. If you pursue your big dream, you might not get a vacation for a year (or two… or three). There’s no guarantee of a sick day when you have a stomach virus because your income relies on you showing up…
- The uncertainty you’re going to meet as you forge your own way, like a pioneer who says “there’s got to be a better way,” and is hellbent on discovering it for herself, which means… there’s not a playbook to tell you what to do next.
There is one comfort that comes from the pursuit of the dream that I firmly believe eclipses all others: That which comes from knowing you are pursuing your purpose with every ounce of your being—not shrinking yourself to fit any one person’s definition of who you should be. And that discomfort is worth the side eye and the toddler with the sugar rush and the diaper on his head and the uncertainty of not knowing the right way—only that there must be a better way.
Here’s the truth: There is no “right way.”
There is only trusting your own thoughts, ideas, and opinions and going for it.
There is only your way. That is the only way to go.
So as you consider stepping off the path of comfort that your lizard brain so desperately wants you to keep plowing, remind yourself:
There is no growth in comfort.
If you’re comfortable, you’re not growing.
If you’re comfortable, you’re leaving money on the table.
Get the support you need to navigate discomfort: the side eye will become less potent when you have a community of like minded dreamers, the guarantees of the status quo will become less alluring once you learn how to make your OWN guarantees, and the uncertainty will become less like throwing spaghetti at the wall when you have the guidance of a tried and true roadmap and the mentorship of a team of experts to lean on.
“Rachel, you're right- the tactics are definitely not “spaghetti on the wall”, it shows putting in the work will ultimately show up as results. That Office Hours session yesterday has me shook. Talked about building my audience and the power of words. Then I check my group last night and… there were 204 member requests last night. The word is getting out.” – A current mastermind member
Don’t fight the discomfort. Be grateful for it. That’s where your next level will come from.
xo,
Rachel
P.S. Enrollment for Hello Seven Incubator is now open, and you can join now to get 2 bonus coaching sessions before we officially begin on February 6th. By the end of this 9-month experience, you will have gained the support you need to pursue your big dream: solid, scaleable offers, an audience, a marketing system, a method for selling your offers, you’ll know your strengths and have a plan for hiring help, and solid legal, financial and customer service systems in your business. In other words, you will have a real business that you can scale to $1m and more revenue than you had when you came into the program. Apply here—spots are limited!
