I was struck with a new definition for “Stuck.” My old one was, “STUCK: When your thoughts tell you the projectionist has gone home, but your heart remains in the theatre.” It’s still apropos but the following one has caught my ear:

“STUCK: When you’re too comfortable with comfort.”

Our comfort zone can become a prison, one that we’re too comfortable to break out of.

If you’re stuck in a ditch in your car, you make some sort of effort to get out. That doesn’t seem to be the case when we’re in a behavioral ditch of our own digging.

Once again, quoting The Grasshopper from years ago: “Change your behavior or stay in your hole.”

I’m reminded of the acid indigestion commercial where the guy has to take a couple of antacid pills so he can have his pizza. That’s stuck! Heaven forbid that he should go to work on the cause of the internal distress. We instead mask it and stay stuck in our comfort zone.

Just about everyone I know knows where they’re stuck. They just won’t admit it out loud and they cover over their condition with the dirt from the rut they’ve dug.

To get lasting comfort, you have to get uncomfortable.

Outgrowing stuck behavior is not comfortable, but it results in a lot more comfort than you had before.

Getting unstuck is a two step process:

1. Recognizing and admitting you’re stuck. That may entail being wrong about something you forever preached being right about.

2. Taking a step in the direction of discomfort.

The discomfort will eventually pass when you start putting one foot in front of the other (Baby Steps). It’s productive to conquer the molehill before you take on the mountain.

Here’s the Sticky Wicket: Getting past the denial that you’re stuck. That’s why Step 1 (above) is so crucial to your progress.

Attempt admitting to yourself that you’re stuck. After you get comfortable with that, admit it to others. Admission is what gets the ball rolling, and stepping towards discomfort completes the circuit.

Want real comfort? Get uncomfortable.

All the best,

John