Tony Robbins | How Comfortable Are You Being Uncomfortable?

“The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably live with.” – Tony Robbins 

Safe space. 

It’s a phrase that’s garnered a lot of attention in 2023. 

And it stems from a very pure intent, to avoid feelings of discomfort. 

To feel safe. It’s a psychological need that every human has. 

We’re all born with a certain amount of centeredness for who we are as a person and what we can control.  

As babies, we can’t control much at all.  

But as we grow that changes. As toddlers, we start to make sense of things that we can place within our control.  

As we mature and sophisticate, we are met with familiar problems. They feel within our comfort zone. We can handle them. We’ve done it before. 

In your own life and in business, you can probably think of problems you’re comfortable dealing with.  

Traffic on the road, a clogged sink, a deadline that won’t be made at work, your partner misunderstands you... 

They may be inconvenient, but familiar.  

But eventually, new problems arise that push you outside the circle of your comfort zone. You’ll go to the edge of that zone to try and solve it, and there will be tension and pushback because it’s new. 

Tension will continue to build, and if you don’t solve the problem, what happens? It doesn’t go away. Another one pops up, and another... 

And you’re left with a choice; expand, grow, become more, and fix the problem, or go under, collapse, and wait for it to show up again in your life...because it will, my friend.  

In order to grow in any area of your life, including your business, you must cross the threshold of your comfort zone.  

It’s about expanding what you’re comfortable being uncomfortable with. 

And the rewards are bountiful on the other side of comfort.  

It’s on the other side that the deepest levels of achievement, pride, and fulfillment are found.  

What’s Your Double Black Diamond?  

Think about skiing or snowboarding... 

Have you ever participated in either? 

Most people learn to do one or the other at an intermediate level. They gain a certain amount of skill, but typically don’t push to grow beyond that. 

You might be comfortable with green or blue slopes, ones you're familiar with.  

Let’s pretend one day you’re skiing or snowboarding along a familiar green slope... 

Until you make a wrong turn and end up looking down at your only option; a double black diamond. 

It looks like you are going to die. 

This is far beyond your skill level. 

The easy, safe slope you wanted to take is no longer available, and you have one of two options: hang on to the side of the mountain for dear life and try to scoot your way down, hoping not to fall off the cliff... 

Or commit to learn and lean in... 

Flying all the way down the mountain, carving a new path, one you haven’t been on before.  

And all of the sudden your skill level jumps up and black diamonds aren’t so scary. 

The same can be applied in other areas of your life, whether that be in your relationships, passion projects, being a parent, or your business.  

Can you think of a double black diamond you’ve mastered in your own life? 

What’s a problem that at one time far surpassed your skill level, but you overcame it, solved the problem, expanded, and gained a new skill? 

And that’s really what crossing the threshold of your comfort zone is about; expansion.  

Opening up to become more.  

Let me share a story with you from my past that illustrates this. I think you’ll get a laugh out of it as well... 

The Vancouver Seminar 

When I first started my education business, I was learning Neuro Linguistic Programming. 

You may have heard of NLP. 

A guy saw me teaching NLP and gave me the opportunity to teach a class in Vancouver for over 200 people. 

It was my very first seminar. And it was wildly successful. I kept going back up to Vancouver to teach more and more seminars.  

I finally got up to 500 people in attendance. My biggest turnout yet. I was elated! I had so many signups for my seminar. 

I was grinning from ear to ear when I man approached me at the end of the first day of the event and handed me his card. It read “immigration”.  

He told me to come by his office the following day at 5:30 p.m. And I said, “Sir, I can’t, the seminar starts at 7:00 p.m.” 

“It’s not a request,” he replied. 

When I showed up at his office the next day he said, “Show me your work permit.” 

And I said, “What’s a work permit?” 

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” he replied. “You cannot legally work in Canada without a work permit.”   

“So how do I get one?” 

“You have to apply for it. You can't get it today. So, we're cancelling your seminar.” He said it without an ounce of remorse.  

I said, “No, no, no, we can't do that!” This was my big break.  

He told me I was taking Canadian jobs. And I told him “Sir, with all due respect, no one is doing what I’m doing! This is the first seminar of its kind and of this size. I’m not taking anyone’s jobs, no one is doing this.” 

It didn’t matter to him. He told me if I got on stage, they’d handcuff me and drag me off. 

I looked at my watch and I had 45 minutes before the seminar started. I raced back to my team of 10 volunteers, and I said “Guys, we have a challenge.”  

I wasn’t making money at that time, and I couldn’t afford to refund everyone’s payments. This is where I stepped beyond the threshold of my comfort zone and looked at my choices. 

I started to think... 

What’s the closest city over the border in America? 

There’s a little town just over the line and they happen to have a Holiday Inn. 

My current seminar was booked at a Holiday Inn, could I call and see if they’d switch locations for me? 

We’d still meet at the original Holiday Inn, but they’d never step foot in the room. I’d just register them there in the lobby. 

And then I decided, there must be a way... 

This was going to be a mobile seminar. 

Buses, we need to find six buses. I got my team on it.  

And I took turns hopping on each of the six buses, driving to and from the United States, teaching NLP. 

I was able to do my full seminar at the Holiday Inn across the border.  

That launched a whole new level of career for me, but it also taught me resourcefulness.  

At that moment, I knew I could handle so much more. Since then, I’ve had dozens of examples of when I’ve crossed my threshold of control. And it never ends, the call to expand.  

Because the problems aren’t going away, we just get better at saying, “OK, this is outside my comfort zone, but I’m going to figure it out anyway.” 

That’s what leaders do.  

Is there a current problem in your life that you're holding off on finding a solution for? 

What would it take for you to cross your threshold of control... 

And look at problems a little bit differently... 

As an opportunity to expand... 

A way to grow... 

Even potentially...as a gift? 

So you can do more, be more, give more, serve more in your business and in your life.  

And remember... 

Crossing the threshold time and time again builds a muscle that nothing and no one can take away from you.  

“You could take away everything I have, but you can’t take away who I’ve become.” 

Cheers to getting uncomfortable, 

Tony Robbins

Books I’m Loving 

• The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health 

Looking to Learn More About Growth? 

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“Problems are a sign of life.”