Let’s be honest: success isn’t comfortable. If it were, everyone would be living the life of their dreams already. Real change requires walking straight into the burning furnace of discomfort and the unknown, but sadly, most people just aren’t mentally prepared to do that. It’s human nature to walk the well trodden path of what feels safe, familiar and comfortable. Fact is, that is not where success will be found.
What’s more familiar than curling up on the sofa with your favourite snacks and a show you’ve watched repeatedly over and over, so much so that you know what comes next? It feels good in the moment, but it keeps you stuck, stagnant, life begins to feel like your on rinse and repeat, laborious and predictable… this path only leads to .
So, here’s the real burning question that you must spend time thinking about honestly and truthfully, as this has the potential to be a cathartic moment…
Are you strong enough right now to move toward what you truly want..? Be brutally honest with yourself here…
To help you, let’s go over a few things that actually matter…
1. Can you make real decisions?
Not the “grilled cheese or cheeseburger” kind, I am talking about decisions that shape your life and your future: choosing a career, choosing a partner, setting long-term goals, deciding how you want to live.
A lot of people avoid these kind of questions because that challenge you, forces you to ask the hard questions, but ultimately many are scared of messing up. But doing nothing is actually worse than making a decision that needs adjusting later. Progress requires choosing a direction—even if you’re not 100% certain as yet what that particular direction will be. But here is the thing, just choose a direction and the rest will fall into place, let the adventure of discovery direct you, pay attention and trust in yourself.
2. Can you handle adversity?
On the road to anything meaningful, things will and do go wrong. People won’t always be there to help. Some might even make it harder for you.
And then there’s failure. Do you fall apart when you fail, or do you, stop, reflect, regroup and try again? Nobody succeeds without experiencing failure, barriers and setbacks are all part of the process, its a right of passage that test your resolve and if your truly committed to achieving what you have set out to do. How you respond to failure is everything. If you crumble at the first hurdle, you stand no chance of ever achieving anything.
3. How do you deal with criticism?
People will always have something to say, some just like to criticise for the sake of criticism, which is often times fuelled by jealously, because they have achieved little in their own lives and just want to keep you down to make them feel better about their own miserable bag of shit lives. If you have people in your life like that, whether family or friends, simply cut them the fuck lose, remove them, because they are just energy vampires and will do anything to keep you down.
You must be ruthless to protect yourself from those types of people at all costs.
While others have genuine intent – not to criticise you – but for the sole purpose of giving you real help, advice and guidance to help you on your path to success, they are the only ones worthy of your time and attention.
Good feedback is very useful—take it, it is the only form you should. The rest? IGNORE IT, it is of no importance and deserves ZERO attention or thought on your part.
If you listen to average opinions from average people, you get an average life.
4. Are you persistent?
Some goals take time. A lot of time.
Saving serious money, losing big weight, mastering a skill—none of it happens quickly or overnight, you should be in it for the long haul, think of anything you take on to achieve as your Mount Everest. It could take months, sometimes even years, before you start to see any results.
So, can you keep going when it’s boring, repetitive, uncomfortable, challenging, when you experience set backs, when things go wrong and don’t play out as you had hoped? When discipline is the only thing carrying you forward towards that summit?
Fragile people quit. Persistent people win.
5. Can you change how you see yourself?
If you’ve spent years seeing yourself as broke, overweight, unlucky, or “not the type who succeeds,” shifting that identity feels peculiar even weird at first, but identity shift you must!
But here’s the truth: you can’t build a new life with the same old self-image. Real success starts with seeing yourself differently, seeing yourself as the new and improved person you wish to become. What does the successful you look, act, speak, dress, walk and talk like…. BE THAT NOW!!
6. Are you flexible?
Plans rarely, if ever go perfectly because life does and will throw the occasional curveballs, markets change, opportunities appear and disappear, there are outside influences that you have no control over, so expect these to happen, because they will. Nothing ever goes according to plan… EVER! You will have to shift, adapt and overcome… be like water, water flows around obstacles and changes course but always ends up where it is heading. BE WATER!
Can you adapt without falling apart?
Flexible people flow and grow. Rigid people get fucked and stuck.
7. Can You Make Mistakes and Still Believe in Yourself?
You will make mistakes guaranteed, mistakes are inevitable and are an essential component to learning. If truth be known, the only time you do actually learn is when you Fuck up, so stop trying to avoid making mistakes, welcome them as part of the process. There is not a single human being on Earth who has drifted through like unscathed by the memories of failure.
The difference is whether those mistakes destroy your confidence or teach you something, and every mistake is there to reveal to you the actual direction you should be heading, it is there to show and teach you something, remember the water analogy?
The most successful people you know? They trust themselves even when they screw up. Their confidence isn’t fragile—it’s built through their fuck-ups and setbacks.
So… Are You Too Fragile Right Now?
Here’s the good news: discomfort isn’t a punishment. It’s the gateway.
Most people avoid it, which means the moment you learn to handle it, you’re already ahead of 90% of the rest of the world.
If you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, your chances of success skyrocket.
So ask yourself: