Growth and comfort don’t coexist

“Do one thing everyday that scares you. Those small things that make us uncomfortable help us build courage to do the work we do.”

- Eleanor Roosevelt, the longest-serving First Lady of the United States (1933 - 1945), US Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly, 1st Chair of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, and 1st Chair of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women

Here’s a tip I picked up from Graham Duncan, the founder of East Rock Capital in New York City.

When you’re anticipating doing something you know is going to be hard or painful, rub your hands together and say, “Bring it on.” Out loud.

I do this. It works.

Before making a difficult phone call. Before beginning a long run. Before jumping in a cold pool. 

It’s good for us to do things we know are going to be painful (within reason), because discomfort is necessary for growth. Growth and comfort don’t coexist.

From 2017 - 2021, I led a team responsible for back office operations - finance, accounting, payroll, human resources, and compliance. I wouldn’t have volunteered for that job. I’m a growth guy. A relationship guy. A communicator. I’m not an accounting and compliance guy.  

I earned mostly acceptable grades in college, but I got a C in accounting.

But in 2017, a colleague resigned. And I stepped up. My first year in the back-office operations role was the most uncomfortable year of my career. 

I ran into my limits. A lot. I messed up payroll twice. I screwed up my first attempt at creating an annual budget for our entire company. And I got difficult feedback from my CEO. 

I wanted to quit. 

But over time, and after making painful mistakes, I learned how to do the work. In my second year in the role, I led the annual budgeting process again, and I did better. The third year, I nailed it. 

I’ll never earn a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, but today I can read financial statements. I’ll never be a CPA, but today I know how to make journal entries. I became a more well rounded business guy. I was better prepared to eventually be a CEO.

If I retook that undergraduate accounting course, I bet I could get a B. Maybe a B+.

A few months ago, my 4 year old daughter asked me to take the training wheels off her pink bike. We did that thing where I held onto the seat and walked behind her as she rode up and down our driveway trying to find balance. 

The next day, we did it again. But after a few trips down the driveway and back, she said, “Okay Daddy, now I want to try to do it on my own.”

 I asked her if she was sure. I could tell she wasn’t. 

But then she rubbed her hands together and said,“bring it on.”

Growth and comfort don’t coexist.

Bring it on.