#052: You're Supposed to Feel Uncomfortable

Read Time: 4 Minutes

Many of us, including myself not too long ago, think we're not supposed to feel overwhelmed. It's uncomfortable, right?

Whenever I'm learning something new, nothing makes sense. None of it. It's exhausting.

Quite honestly, I feel like I'm moving backwards faster than I'm moving forward.

But when I stick at it for a prolonged length of time (at least 30 days) there comes a moment when things start to click.

I'm not saying after 30 days I become an expert at this new thing I'm learning.

But parts of it start to fall into place for me.

To get this stage though you must go through some discomfort. You must feel overwhelmed and get to the point where you want to give up.

Unfortunately, this is where the majority of people fall off the wagon.

If you push past this point though, that's where the magic happens.

Nothing happens, then everything happens, as the saying goes.

Growth Happens On The Other Side of Discomfort

Naturally, as humans, we're wired for negativity. That's what kept our ancestors alive.

Always being on the alert for danger.

We live in a very different world now though.

Lions are unlikely to jump out at us from a bush on the edge of the street.

But that part of our brain called the amygdala, is still very much present; it's trying to keep us safe.

The downside to the amygdala in the modern world is that it stops us from trying new things, learning new skills, discovering new possibilities and developing ourselves.

Just take reviews on your books as a prime example of this.

You may have 1,000's of reviews/ratings on a book of yours, but when you see a 1-star review come in, the other 5,874 positive reviews become invisible.

All you can focus on is that single 1-star review.

This 1-star review consumes you for hours, days, even weeks.

You question your abilities as an author.

You consider throwing in the towel.

You think about what else you could do with your life because clearly, this person who left a 1-star review has caught you out as an imposter.

I jest, but this is the sort of narrative that plagues so many authors, my wife included.

I go to the gym 3-5 times per week and, as my wife says "put my body through torture".

But without putting my body through some short-lived discomfort, I wouldn't be stronger, fitter and have the endurance to keep up with our 3 boys, especially as they get older and start getting stronger themselves.

I want to be a fit, strong father figure and not miss out on playing with them at every opportunity I can.

This is my why for going to the gym.

Sure, it's painful (though I secretly enjoy the pain of lifting weights and calisthenics), and to be honest, without a strong why I probably wouldn't even go to the gym in the first place.

If you're currently learning Facebook Ads (Meta Ads as I'll start calling them) and struggling to get much traction, I encourage you to bring everything back to your why.

Why are you learning Meta Ads? What do you want them to do for you? What are your dreams and goals? Why are these important to you? How will Meta Ads help you achieve them?

When you know the answers to these sorts of questions, that will make the discomfort of learning Meta Ads so much easier.

You might even start to (secretly or not) enjoy running Ads.

Without a strong why it's all too easy to stay in your zone of comfort and become a robot that is self-programmed to do the same thing day in, day out, week in, week out.

There's nothing wrong with this per se.

But if you know somewhere inside of you that you want more from life, discomfort is how you're going to achieve that.

How To Learn Anything Faster

The best way I've discovered to learn anything fast is not just to learn and get stuck in learning-prison (courses, YouTube videos, webinars, podcasts, etc).

These resources are incredibly valuable of course, but only if you take one additional step:

Implementation

To put a more practical slant to this, implement what you've learned or what you're learning with a 30-90 day project, such as:

Run Meta Ads for 90 days to advertise your books

With a project, you now have something out there in the real world to implement what you're learning:

#1: Make notes on what you think you need to implement based on your current knowledge and understanding of the project topic

#2: Create milestones for the project to keep you on track

#3: Set a deadline for completing the project - this will make you move faster than Usain Bolt's pants

Implement As You Learn

Getting stuck in learning-prison may, unconsciously feel good at the time but without implementing what you're learning you're not truly moving forward.

Implementation of anything new is going to be uncomfortable for you.

But if you do nothing aside from consuming educational content around the topic of your project for 6 months, in 6 months time you'll be no further ahead than you are now.

With Meta Ads as an example here's what you could do (this is what I do with any new course or program I invest in):

#1: Purchase a course on Meta Ads

#2: Watch through the course once and take notes

#3: Go back to the relevant lessons and start implementing

#4: Refer back to any lessons in the course you need more clarity on

#5: Dive deeper into any topics from the course that excite you and implement them

The last thing you want to do is hoard a truckload of knowledge.

Instead, what you need is real-world experience implementing that knowledge and understanding whether it will help you move closer to your goals and dreams.

From my own experience, I've procrastinated on so many new skills I wanted to learn but didn't take the step to implement what I learned because I was afraid of the discomfort I knew was ahead.

When I got out of my own way though and took action on what I learned, that's when things really started to happen.

So, it's time.

Learn, implement, and have an amazing weekend.

See you next week.

To Your Success
– Matt