February 2021 Small Business Leaders EDITION
TECHNICITY
ISSUE
# 10
Business Technology + sychronicity
Learning to Be Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can learn from this past year is that people don ’ t expect us to have all of the answers or to lead with perfection . What they need is authenticity that drives us to be honest , transparent , and willing to listen and learn .
– Larry Little , Author of Make a Difference
A few years back , I was at a business networking event , discussing what was going on in my business at the time , and I will never forget the words of advice given to me : “ You need to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable .” Part of my personality drives me towards trying to reach perfection . It was not until I accepted perfection as untenable that I stumbled upon greater understandings of how to maintain being at ease . I am thankful for hearing this advice years in advance of 2020 . It gave me some time to practice before facing the challenges that the year brought ( and continues to bring into 2021 ).
It is impossible to escape the feeling of being uncomfortable . No one becomes a virtuoso in something immediately , and points of failure are inevitable . Where you achieve comfort is in knowing that you will not give up until the unknown becomes familiar . It is easy to look at others who have more experience in something you wish to attain and only see them in the confident moment you observe them in . What you do not see are all their times of struggle that got them to that moment of confidence . Not one of us has it easy .
Learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable is a never-ending lesson that permeates all aspects of life . While 2020 has shown us how little control of events we have , it also highlighted what control we do have . Regardless of the external circumstances around you , you can choose to continue to push through , learn , recover from failures , and reframe thoughts and attitudes . If you do this , slowly but surely , you will reach a state of comfort and peace once again .
- Jaclyn Morse , Vice President