Success isn’t easy. There is a lot of discomfort that must be overcome to change your life in a dramatic way. Most people are too mentally fragile to deal with discomfort. Our natural instincts are to retreat to places of comfort.
What’s more comfortable than watching your favorite movie from the comfort of your couch while eating your favorite snack? But it’s a trap.
Are you strong enough at this moment to move toward success? Consider these questions:
- Are you able to make decisions? You’re thinking, “Of course, I choose to eat a grilled cheese for lunch over a cheeseburger.” But, we’re talking about big decisions here. Choosing a career, a life partner, a marketing plan for your small business, an investment strategy, a lifestyle, or long-term goals require the ability to make decisions and stick with them.
Without decisions, your life is on the fast track to nowhere. Unsuccessful people struggle to make up their minds. They don’t want to make a mistake, so they do nothing. You have to be brave enough to risk making a mistake and just decide.
- Are you able to deal with adversity? Adversity abounds on the road to accomplishing anything significant. The vast majority of the rest of the world doesn’t care, and they’re not going to help. There will even be a few people in your way. Are you strong enough to deal with adversity?
Failure is another type of adversity. Do you work through failure or use it as an excuse to quit? Overcoming failure is key to success. The odds of being successful without experiencing failure are slim.
- Can you handle criticism? Plenty of people want to hold you back. It’s the easiest way for them to feel better about themselves. You lose 15 lbs, and someone asks you if you’re sick. You make a few dollars, and someone tells you you’re just going to waste it or that you’re being greedy.
Listen to average people and you’ll be average.
Some criticism is constructive. Use it. The rest is harmful. Ignore it.
- Are you persistent? Some things take a long time to accomplish. Earning and saving $5 millions will take most people many years. Losing 100 lbs takes time. Can you eat another chicken breast and a salad again tonight instead of ordering a pizza? Are you tough enough to persist? Fragile people aren’t persistent.
- Are you able to change your perception of yourself? If you’re used to being financially challenged or overweight, are you strong enough to change your perception of yourself to that of someone wealthy or fit? Changing your perceptions is uncomfortable, but doable.
- Are you able to be flexible? Can you change course when the situation calls for it? Or would you rather stick to what you know? How much change can you handle before you crumble? It’s not easy to take a new approach, especially if you have to start from scratch.
- Can you make mistakes and still have confidence in yourself? Can you maintain faith in yourself after you’ve made a few mistakes and misjudgments? How much do you trust yourself? How unshakable is that trust? Think of the most successful people you know. Their self-confidence is rock solid.
- Are you too fragile to succeed? Discomfort is part of success, but be grateful. That discomfort limits the amount of competition you’ll face. Learn to handle feeling uncomfortable, and your success will skyrocket. Are you tough enough to succeed?