Are You Willing to Pay the Cost to be Comfortable?

You might consider the cost of success. There are many times that we hold ourselves back simply because the thought of that cost is enough to scare us away. Success might cost you too much pressure. It might have you working too many hours. Successfully making it to a new level might introduce new problems that you aren’t prepared to handle. Have you ever considered though, that there is a cost to be comfortable? What are you giving up in order to stay all cozy in a mindset, physical state, or personal situation that just feels comfortable. We say, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t, but unless you know the cost, that statement is simply a platitude to keep you still and stagnant.

Have you considered for a moment that we never say comments like that to kids or people coming into adulthood? If it’s not good enough for them to settle, its certainly not good enough for you. Learn more in this week’s YouTube video. Click here to watch!

Just be grateful and content; enjoy the comfort

For so long I got the message; Why can’t you just be content? On paper all was great. I was in my mid 20s, had been promoted a couple of times, and had learned from some amazing leaders. My job was easy for me. While other people were complaining about too much on their plate and not enough hours in the day, I had cracked the code of proactively leading my customers. I was good at my job and making more money than I ever expected at that age. My first son was thriving in daycare and I got to pick him up by 3:30 every day.

I expected struggle as a new, full time working mom. Sure, I struggled to balance all the new responsibilities and expectations of me. I guess I did struggle at work too, though, not the way I expected. My struggle was boredom. I had a better way for the team to work. My processes and planning could be helping everyone else. When I tried to share that I was told to just enjoy that it was easy. Which I was grateful for.

The problem was, I got the why aren’t you content? message all the time. Meanwhile the question I asked myself was, is this it? Am I supposed to just enjoy that I can do this easily while everyone else is struggling? Should I just cash my paycheck and play with my son? I could have, but I had more to offer and I knew it. I wanted that next step, new struggles and all.

They share the cost of success, not the cost to be comfortable

When I would talk about wanting responsibility, having more influence, or making a bigger impact, I got tons of feedback. Management is stressful. You don’t actually get to change as much as you think. Why would you add projects to your plate? Nothing ever changes anyway. You’ll have to spend more time at work. I had been a leader before. I had seen change happen before from influencing the right people. But this was my first time in corporate, could it really be that different from every other industry I’d worked in?

The most interesting part to me was that no one ever flipped the coin. No one said to me, It would be a shame to never try to get it right. You’ll regret what you don’t work for. Wouldn’t you want to tell your son you left it all on the field? No one said anything like that. Everyone encouraged me to stay small, stay comfortable. After all, I was making good money for a woman my age. Think of the time I could spend with my son. I should probably coast and enjoy my good fortune. I was told to be grateful. No one shared the cost to be comfortable.

Gratitude and comfort can cost you a lot

Over the years I’ve seen so many people fall into the comfort of what they know and call it gratitude. They settle deeper and deeper into what they know until they are a fraction of what they could have been.

Someone starts their life with aspirations, ideas, and dreams of what they could become. Maybe they want to climb the corporate ladder and get the amazing office on the 25th floor. Or strive to find that dream niche in a small organization that allows them the flexibility to do exactly what they want to do. You can see the excitement on their faces as they tell you about what they’re working toward. Then, as they get into the day-to-day the routine starts to feel normal. It becomes scary to compete against everyone else for that same job or that same opportunity, so they think, I’ll try for the next one. This one wasn’t exactly right anyway. Then, they start to get people in their ear like I did saying, can’t you just be happy where you are? Do you really want to make life harder?

Then you go deeper down the rabbit hole

So, bit by bit they give up on working toward what they wanted. They say they can be grateful for what they have for now. Over time, it becomes a someday dream. Someday I’ll get that chance. Someday I’ll start working toward that dream again. Now just isn’t my time. But without getting comfortable with the uncomfortable those opportunities become less and less, and it gets harder for them to spot them. Eventually, they become the people echoing those same constricting lines to everyone else. Bitter that they never took their shot. So grateful for what they had that they got too comfortable with the devil they knew, instead of risking the devil they didn’t. Now they are telling more people to do just the same.

Conclusion

Gratitude is a great practice. It makes you realize how much you’ve got to be thankful for even when things are difficult. It can also make you settle. Comfort and gratitude can keep you good enough when you could be striving for great. You can be thankful to have a job, and still want something that pushes you further and allows you to make the impact you want to make. You can be thankful for happy kids and still work to develop them into strong, independent, and successful adults.

Don’t pay the cost to be comfortable. Don’t trade your push for improvement, your drive for more, to settle into your comfort and call it gratitude. All of us have a multitude of things to be grateful for. It is when you get all settled into that gratefulness that you start paying the cost of comfort. You pay out for the lost opportunities, the lesser impact, and reduced ability to cultivate a life that leads others to desire our thoughts, perspectives, and wisdom.

It isn’t too late to do something different. You don’t have to settle for the comfort of the devil you know. Cast a vision that gets you inspired to make changes and create a life you love, at every stage. I have a totally free vision casting video that will walk you through from casting your vision to setting goals that will help you get there today! Click here for access to Aligned Ambitions and reverse engineer your goals. You will be empowered to be grateful for your blessings while actively working toward an even brighter future.