The Best Auto Repair Shop Owners Step Out of their Comfort Zone

The Comfort Zone by Rick White, President 180BIZ

In the last two episodes, I talked about your brain and how it actually works against you. I talked about how it conserves energy and what to watch out for which is good enough and I’ll do it later. What I’ll talk about now is the survival aspect of your brain. The thing that your brain inherently wants to do to keep you alive. The first thing is the comfort zone.

Your brain wants you in your comfort zone. That’s why we have a propensity to stay in our comfort zone. It's what we're used to. It doesn't necessarily mean we love it or that we like it. It's just that we're used to it.

Most people are going to tell you your comfort zone is bad for you. And I'm going to tell you that's not true. Your comfort zone is a good place, but you must determine what your comfort zone looks like. Your comfort zone is not retreating. It's about resting. It's okay to have a comfort zone because if you're pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing, pushing all the time and you get worn out. If you're constantly pushing, every once in a while need to rest. And that's what your comfort zone is there for. So, when it comes to your comfort zone you need to decide what that looks like.

It's not a place to retreat to, it's not a place to live smaller because that's generally what your comfort zone is. Your comfort zone is you doing what you're good at and staying in that area all the time. And normally that would work out. The problem is in our industry everything else is absolutely exploding especially technology. So, while you think you're sitting still, you're actually going backward because the world in the industry has gone rushing forward. While you're in your comfort zone, very quickly you will be not as relevant as you used to be. That's a problem. So, I want you to be able to step out of your comfort zone.

Your brain is set to survive, not thrive, but your spirit is set to thrive. I need you to hear that your brain is set to keep you alive, but your spirit is to thrive, to grow, to become the best version of you that you possibly can. That isn't going to happen in your comfort zone. That isn't going to happen thinking about it. That isn't going to happen talking about it. You must get outside of your comfort zone, build your comfort zone not as a retreat, but as a resting place. When it's time to go into your comfort zone, I want you to make a promise to me. You're not going to check into your comfort zone until you know the checkout date. You've got to know when you're leaving. You got to know when it's time to get back out of your comfort zone and push some more, to become the best version of yourself.

We think the comfort zone protects us and it doesn't. The comfort zone is a lie. The comfort zone is going to make things harder. And I want you to see and hear and realize that the comfort zone is a great place to go back to rest, to recharge. But I want you to have a check-out date. Your comfort zone is a good thing when you set it up the way it should be as a place to rest and recharge, not retreat, not to live in for the rest of your life.

That's not what it's about. You stopped dreaming the day you stopped pushing. That's the day you start dying. We're not ready for that. None of us are.  Be like Les brown. I don't want to die rusted out. I want to die with nothing left. When it's time for me to go, I want to go with a smile knowing that I put everything I possibly could into becoming the very best version of myself and making a difference in the world and the lives of others. You do the same.

Take care, stay safe and go make some money.