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Crushing the Comfort Zone

Vigilante

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I've been thinking (and researching) about comfort zones and how they can hinder your ability to grow as a person. There is also evidence that your business can stall/suffer if you stay in the comfort zone too long. My research is starting to convince me that pushing yourself and your business out of that zone could open some possibilities for unseen growth. As a secondary topic I am interested in how this relates to individual happiness. (I'm guessing that increased happiness might exist just outside of the comfort zone).

Although there is some research and opinions about this, I haven't really found a study that combines all these ideas into one thesis. So, I am going to create a real-life study/showcase and document it right here! And the guinea pig is going to be....well...me.

For this experiment I will be pushing 2 things out of the comfort zone. Those are:
1. myself personally
2. my spec-home business (thread below if you want to know more about that)

I will be documenting:
1. My mental state and hopefully any lasting changes (these my be hard to identify but I'll try).
2. Any change in the business. That can be financial/scale/ease/etc. Once I see some changes I will categorize them so we can track changes with some sort of metric.
3. My personal happiness. I took a baseline happiness test and will update it periodically.

Things I will be doing - finding all possible areas to push the comfort zone both personally and business. I will have to find most of these but you are certainly welcome to submit your ideas! These will be along the theme of:
1. Personal - Go to a float tank for 3 sessions. Several ways that pushes me out of the CZ but mainly I'm not too comfortable with the "lost in your head" scenario.
2. Business - Delegate stuff I normally do. This pushes me out of the CZ because I really like to do things myself. It's a perfection issue, so let's push it ha!

Things I will not be doing:
1. Cliff diving or taming Cobras. Not looking to die in some adrenaline rage.
2. Take serious risks to my health or my business. I'm not betting the house on red but I will push until I'm uncomfortable.
3. Faking CZ issues just to provide content. These studies are meant to push the CZ, inherently I'm not going to want to do them. Feel free to call me out on this.

So here we go! Feel free to comment, add suggestions, ask questions, join me, whatever floats your boat...out of your Comfort Zone!
 
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Get Right

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@Get Right this may be the best thread on the forum right now.....

ask someone to dance

Added, this should be hilarious also.

Eat a Carolina reaper/ghost pepper and don't eat/drink anything for ten minutes

Added, but I know what those are! I will substitute a jalapeno with seeds though. It will be hot enough to be uncomfortable.

And a funeral

Added, I will have to be careful with this one.

Lay in a coffin filled with African Cockroaches!!

Done, I lived in a trailer for a few years. Pretty much the same.
 

GPM

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CCZ #5 (ask for a discount)
Bank fee, yep I'm asking for it. I'm going to make at least 10 "asks" before I report on this. I asked for 3 today and I can tell you, its pretty uncomfortable at some places.

So if someone asks you for a discount at your online store...its probably me.

++++++ On that bank fee one! I started asking for discounts on my wire fees and better rates when doing CAD to USD wires. I have literally saved several hundred dollars so far, just for a simple ask.

I am loving this thread. I would suggest rather than telling a man he is cute, try just finding a feature and telling him how amazing it is (if it is true). That will make his day, so you will both end up ahead and not just creeped out.
 

Jeff Noel

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For the "Tell a guy he's cute" challenge, there's ways of saying another man that he looks good. Once you start doing that, you feel empowered and the rest of the day is great.

Ultimate challenge: Drop your entrepreneur career and start living 9 to 5, paycheck to paycheck. Stop investing your money, spend it carelessly. Start bitching about your boss and put the fault on everybody else when something's wrong. (Don't do this, please)

A more realistic challenge is ask strangers to borrow $20 or $100.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmIeo2bZVoQ

As you can see he missed the "Why?" opportunity. Try to find one on the spot.

Watch his 100 days challenge:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vZXgApsPCQ

More info:

He bought a domain name related to that: 100 Days of Rejection — Rejection Therapy

He seems to be testing an app: https://rejectiontherapyapp.com/
And a book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080414138X/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20
 
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SDE

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ask the local school if you can speak to the entire assembly about being a business owner

@Get Right

When you see a kid smiling throughout your speech, you bet he's selling pack of gums and candies out of his bag during breaks.
 
G

GuestUser4aMPs1

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Start selling Amway, and make sure it's Women's Cosmetics.
Bonus points if it's sold to friends / family.

Visit a religion's 'building' other than your own and participate.
(i.e. Buddhist Temple, Mosque, Pagan Drum Circle, etc)
 
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Get Right

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Ok, I have 5 discount asks now. I am starting to dread it a little more because I know the rejection ratio. Once again, I just do it...no matter how awkward it is. I can't wait to share the McD's ask.
 
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amp0193

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Ok, I have 5 discount asks now. I am starting to dread it a little more because I know the rejection ratio. Once again, I just do it...no matter how awkward it is. I can't wait to share the McD's ask.

A supplier wanted me to place a $500 order, and then anything else I could drop ship from our site.

I had this thread in mind when I told him that cash was tight... can I just drop ship everything?

And he said yes!
 
D

Deleted52409

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I am a living testimony to the fact that if you do stupid and risky stuff then you will naturally gain much more confidence, even in a relatively short period of time.

Some uncomfortable stuff I have done in the past few months:

1. Going skydiving
2. Holding/playing with someone's pet snake
3. Car accident (not intentional obviously)
4. Took up first sales job and made a lot of cold calls
5. Visiting dangerous black neighborhoods like Gary, IN and South Side Chicago in general.
6. Hiking alone at night
7. Trying to dance at a wedding despite being white and failing horribly

Not sure exactly what the future holds but I plan to get into even more risk within the next 3 to 5 years such as:

- visiting a country far away without knowing the native language
- moving to a new state without a job
- more fastlane type financial risks
 

Timmy C

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Watching this thread.

Absolute gold, inspired me to get out of my comfort zone to. I am gonna do some wack Sh1t over the next couple months hahaha.
 
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Timmy C

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Ok I just took a cold shower OP, can confirm the screaming like someone is trying to murder you happens, my old man looked at me like I was insane and pissed himself laughing hahahahaha. I only lasted 20 seconds though that was way harder than I thought.
 

Timmy C

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CCZ #4 - Eat 3 things I hate

Idea: @wade1mil
How this is uncomfortable: We get to pick our food most of the time. What would it be like to pick the opposite of what you like?

Pre-Event Anxiety level (1-5): Level 2, Not too much anxiety on this one because I just knew it was going to suck. I think the success of the last few CCZ's is making me less anxious about new challenges.

How it went: This task had several steps so the build up was intense. I started by finding the supermarket butcher and asking where the liver was. Super uncomfortable because it took 2 of them to find some. I thought even they were going to hurl. Next, you should have seen the look on the supermarket cashier's face... Beef liver, water chestnuts and grapefruit water. It's hard to even type. I cooked them on the grill because I wasn't having that smell in the house. Salt and pepper only. I added some onion and squash because guess what?! My kids did the challenge too!
View attachment 22892

Immediate Reaction(s): This absolutely turned my stomach...on so many levels. The grapefruit water was terrible. The water chestnuts tasted like a salt, vinegar apple. But nothing, I mean nothing would approach the sin of that liver. It was so bad It made the other items good! I found myself eating and drinking the other stuff just to avoid the liver. I kept fighting it though and got about half of it down.

Reactions after an hour: Stomach still churning. I keep telling myself "that liver was bad man" over and over.

Final Reaction: I hope there is no final reaction...but I wouldn't bet on it.

Willingness to repeat (1-5): 1, No. I'm not doing this again.

Notes: This CCZ was pretty uncomfortable. Each step represented an opportunity to either give up or cheat. I just kept moving forward. I'm taking that as the lesson this time. Embrace the suck and just keep moving man!


I'm crying.
 

Get Right

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Get Right

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Merry Christmas my forum friends!!

I am crushing comfort zones left and right this holiday season! I hope you are too!!
 

Raoul Duke

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A few weeks ago I started doing push-ups. Not your stander push-up either.

Everytime I walk in or out of a door frame. I do 5 push-ups. 5 in. 5 out.

Have any idea how awkward that is? People looking at me like i'm crazy. And you, wonder why, you're still stuck in the same routine.
 

Timmy C

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That's awesome @Timmy1990 ! Man, try to make it the whole time. Try to get where it doesn't feel cold anymore. It will change your day and maybe more!

Ok so did it again lasted over a minute this time, also asked for a discount on my coffee at Macca's that was the worst, worse than cold shower. What was even more cringe was she was shocked I asked and I had to ask twice..did I get it no.
 
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Royce2

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This relates to a dopemine fast I’m making right now. Basically same concept. Not comfortable but also makes me conscious of what I take in.

Some examples from my dopemine list
Coffee
Sugar
Spending money
Checking notifications
Throwing trash into the back of my car
And more...

All of those things I will personally and consciously NOT do. And when I’m feeling extra, I’ll do the opposite of anything my selfish comfortable self desires the entire day.

Suggestion for you @Get Right
Do daily activities with opposite hand for a bit.
Writing
Eating
Even opening doors with opposite hand for me feels weird
 

Get Right

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Do daily activities with opposite hand for a bit.

Love it, added!

Ok so did it again lasted over a minute this time, also asked for a discount on my coffee at Macca's that was the worst, worse than cold shower. What was even more cringe was she was shocked I asked and I had to ask twice..did I get it no.

Nice work! The discount thing is funny. Sometimes its more awkward to get the discount. Sometimes the ask is the hard part.

Everytime I walk in or out of a door frame. I do 5 push-ups. 5 in. 5 out.

Ha! That is awesome. Keep us updated on if anybody asks you why you are doing that.
 

RazorCut

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@Get Right you are crushing it man. Serious kudos to you my friend.

That's awesome @Timmy1990 ! Man, try to make it the whole time. Try to get where it doesn't feel cold anymore. It will change your day and maybe more!

Also I think it depends on how cold the water is. In my gym the water doesn't even get all that cold while at home it gets cold enough to hurt a little bit.

I thought I would test the theory as I thought it was seriously cold as not many are man enough to use it. So I hit the cold shower at our sauna twice in succession to see if I was right. OMG I got brain freeze!! It hurt like hell. :rofl:
 
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OMDA

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I hate running.

A lot. Haven't gone running in a few years. I've spend most of my time lifting weights, but not running.

But, after reading Goggin's book, and being stuck away from home for this vacation, with no real gym here, I've been on two runs. They were short, but I mixed in sprints to increase the intensity.

It made me pretty uncomfortable. My calves are killing me, and I've been working them out 3x a week, often with weight added.

Reading this thread for more ideas on what to do in order to kill the comfort zone.
 

Royce2

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I thought I would test the theory as I thought it was seriously cold as not many are man enough to use it. So I hit the cold shower at our sauna twice in succession to see if I was right. OMG I got brain freeze!! It hurt like hell. :rofl:
-CZ related-
I come from a Russian background and the way we sauna is like this: Heat it up to 100 Fahrenheit, and sit for 20-30 minutes (warmup round) then toss in some wood into the furnace we don’t mess with the electric stuff they don’t work as well. Then take a quick break outside and go back in and sit for 10-15 in 120F or at least when you start getting uncomfortable with the heat.. then you sit another 5 minutes in all of that THEN pour water on the rocks and breath the vapor as long as you can. then go outside and jump into a glacier river nearby. And at that point you don’t feel any coldness, just a huge rush of adrenaline and freshness. Do that about 6 times and you will be naturally high for the rest of the night and sleep soundly. @Chapas might confirm.
 

MakeItHappen

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Haha well done! Yep I can't put my head under the water of the shower for more than like 10 seconds at a time because I get a massive brain freeze, that's when you know that the water is really cold. ;)
 
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Get Right

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But, after reading Goggin's book

I started his book a few days ago. I find it awesome how it ties in to my experiences in this thread. I especially love the 40% rule which I have now tested. Results will be out soon!
 

Timmy C

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I started his book a few days ago. I find it awesome how it ties in to my experiences in this thread. I especially love the 40% rule which I have now tested. Results will be out soon!

I just started listening to it on audible and noticed it tied into this thread as well, im like dang OP is David Goggins haha.

Not far into it at all but man what a shit house childhood.
 

Get Right

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CCZ #5 - Ask for a discount!

Idea: @RazorCut
How this is uncomfortable: It's pretty easy to pay retail but what happens when you need to save some change? Will people think I'm cheap, forgot my wallet, maybe an a$$? Let's see!

Pre-Event Anxiety level (1-5): Level 1, How hard could it be to ask for a discount? Not anxious before but what will happen at the register? Moo-ha-ha!!

How it went: Ok, so I asked for discounts at 10 locations for this task. I didn't cherry pick either. I simply asked for a discount at the next 10 places I spent money at. Here is the list and results:

Lowe's (denied - The checkout lady was nice but no way she was giving me a discount. She said to come back after Christmas with a coupon. Easy ask though.)
Harbor Freight Tools (denied - This lady was a little more stern but told me to sign up for their catalogs with coupons in it)
Sherwin Williams Paint Store (denied - This one was weird because I'm in there a lot. The ask was more ignored than anything else. Pretty uncomfortable ask.)
Zaxby's (denied - Nice girl that just laughed. I laughed too, who cares at this point I'm getting shut down)
McDonald's (denied - Oh man this one hurt. I ordered breakfast standing next to a guy that looked homeless. I really did not want to ask in front of him. My emotions were all over the place so I held my head low and asked. The lady felt bad for me so she winked and asked if I was a police officer. I couldn't lie...Weird stares from the homeless guy...I bought his breakfast.)
Lowe's (again) (denied again - The cashier asked if I was military, couldn't lie again...)
Walmart gas station (denied - I mean who asks for a discount on a $1.29 bottle of water...I guess I do.)
Publix Grocery Store (denied - But with a smile)
Publix Liqour Store (SCORE - I got 20% off! Hot damn I was excited to save $10. Cashier thinks I'm crazy now btw.)
Threaded Fastners (hardware store) (denied - Guy just chuckled and rang up my order.)

Immediate Reaction(s): I was blown away by how hard it was to ask for a discount once you are at the counter. Anxiety ramped up in the 4 range almost every time. It wasn't even about the discount just the stark contrast to paying retail all the time.

Reactions after an hour: I'm glad this challenge is over. I found myself trying to cheat and skip a place because of the comfort thing. In fact I did skip one! I had some keys cut by an old couple downtown that have been cutting them for me for 20 years. $6 for 3 keys. No way I was asking them. I'll take that one on the chin every time.

Final Reaction: What a simple challenge that ended up turning my shopping upside down.

Willingness to repeat (1-5): 2, I don't want to do this again unless there is some gain. It's just too uncomfortable and my success rate was really low.

Notes: This was a simple challenge with devil like details. Give it a shot and you'll know what I mean!
 

dgr

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Great challenge @Get Right! It's nice to see your progress and would love to know how you translate your new experiences to any other areas in your life or business :)

I'm quite used to this kind of CZ challenges, doing them since 7 or 8 years ago. The cold showers are great, they've become my standard and I really enjoy them.

But this past year I think I pushed myself too much and then I spent a while doing exactly the opposite: just finding my CZ and resisting doing anything that pushed myself in those areas.

The thing with the CZ is that when you crush it, you still need to integrate that new expanded CZ into your life, and that takes time and usually repetition. Some challenges seem hard to do until you do them, but the hardest part comes when you have to do them again and again.

The first time the adrenaline helps you to perform. But in the next 2-10 times, you will discover new tactics that your mind uses against you to avoid the pain.

I don't know if that will apply also to massages :D
 

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