A good friend of mine – I’ve talked about him several times before – follows one creative rule: If thinking about doing it makes him uncomfortable, he does it.

Comfort is the biggest enemy of success, right? If you’re comfortable, it means you’re used to doing something. You’re not doing anything new. If you’re not doing anything new, how can you possibly grow? You can’t. You want to get better, don’t you? Discomfort, ironically, is the path to all of life’s comforts. So how do you get uncomfortable?

I’m incredibly comfortable sitting in this chair, churning out a post a day for my relatively insignificant blog. I don’t really have to try anything, I just have to do the same thing again and again. What’s incredibly uncomfortable for me is putting my work in front of people who matter, who definitely know what they’re doing and talking about. That’s the biggest reason I haven’t contributed to LinkedIn Pulse in months. Fear.

I’m afraid of being professionally embarrassed. It puts me on edge, so I don’t post there. But that’s the very reason I should post there! You’ve got something like this, I guarantee it. You’re starting to grasp one area or facet of what you’re doing, and you desperately want to hang on to that, because it makes you feel good. You want to feel to good! That won’t help you grow.

For me to grow, I need to post on Pulse. The same goes for pitching my work to bigger blogs – actual publishers. The worst they could possibly say is “no.” There’s a chance they’d give me some feedback to help me in the future, and there’s even the chance they’d accept my work! But pitching feels like sitting on a seat of nails.

It’s so uncomfortable. But that’s one of the reasons I started freelancing. The stakes needed to be higher for me to grow. I need someone to say “this is what we need, make changes.” Obviously that can get frustrating and time consuming, but it’s all about making the best. It makes me uncomfortable, which means I should probably do it.

I guarantee there’s something you’re thinking about right now that makes you uncomfortable. If there wasn’t before, you’re now racking your brain thinking up things that could make you feel that way. Maybe what makes you uncomfortable is asking people to subscribe.

Maybe what makes you uncomfortable is being in front of a camera, or videoing yourself.

Maybe what makes you uncomfortable is asking people to pay for your work.

Maybe what makes you uncomfortable is pitching agents or publishers.

Maybe what makes you uncomfortable is starting that massive project or book.

Maybe what makes you uncomfortable is applying for that dream job.

Whatever it is that’s making you uncomfortable is the same thing that’s holding you back. You need to do it. Just start. It’s really that simple. If it doesn’t feel that simple, it’s because you’ve built it up into something larger in your head. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t put it on your to-do list. Make sure you’ve subscribed to this blog and then get started!