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- Jun 29, 2011
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Eat a Carolina reaper/ghost pepper and don't eat/drink anything for ten minutes
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Eat a Carolina reaper/ghost pepper and don't eat/drink anything for ten minutes
I've been thinking (and researching) about comfort zones and how they can hinder your ability to grow as a person. There is also evidence that your business can stall/suffer if you stay in the comfort zone too long. My research is starting to convince me that pushing yourself and your business out of that zone could open some possibilities for unseen growth. As a secondary topic I am interested in how this relates to individual happiness. (I'm guessing that increased happiness might exist just outside of the comfort zone).
Although there is some research and opinions about this, I haven't really found a study that combines all these ideas into one thesis. So, I am going to create a real-life study/showcase and document it right here! And the guinea pig is going to be....well...me.
For this experiment I will be pushing 2 things out of the comfort zone. Those are:
1. myself personally
2. my spec-home business (thread below if you want to know more about that)
I will be documenting:
1. My mental state and hopefully any lasting changes (these my be hard to identify but I'll try).
2. Any change in the business. That can be financial/scale/ease/etc. Once I see some changes I will categorize them so we can track changes with some sort of metric.
3. My personal happiness. I took a baseline happiness test and will update it periodically.
Things I will be doing - finding all possible areas to push the comfort zone both personally and business. I will have to find most of these but you are certainly welcome to submit your ideas! These will be along the theme of:
1. Personal - Go to a float tank for 3 sessions. Several ways that pushes me out of the CZ but mainly I'm not too comfortable with the "lost in your head" scenario.
2. Business - Delegate stuff I normally do. This pushes me out of the CZ because I really like to do things myself. It's a perfection issue, so let's push it ha!
Things I will not be doing:
1. Cliff diving or taming Cobras. Not looking to die in some adrenaline rage.
2. Take serious risks to my health or my business. I'm not betting the house on red but I will push until I'm uncomfortable.
3. Faking CZ issues just to provide content. These studies are meant to push the CZ, inherently I'm not going to want to do them. Feel free to call me out on this.
So here we go! Feel free to comment, add suggestions, ask questions, join me, whatever floats your boat...out of your Comfort Zone!
Eat a Carolina reaper/ghost pepper and don't eat/drink anything for ten minutes
And a funeral
Lay in a coffin filled with African Cockroaches!!
CCZ #5 (ask for a discount)
Bank fee, yep I'm asking for it. I'm going to make at least 10 "asks" before I report on this. I asked for 3 today and I can tell you, its pretty uncomfortable at some places.
So if someone asks you for a discount at your online store...its probably me.
ask the local school if you can speak to the entire assembly about being a business owner
Ok, I have 5 discount asks now. I am starting to dread it a little more because I know the rejection ratio. Once again, I just do it...no matter how awkward it is. I can't wait to share the McD's ask.
CCZ #4 - Eat 3 things I hate
Idea: @wade1mil
How this is uncomfortable: We get to pick our food most of the time. What would it be like to pick the opposite of what you like?
Pre-Event Anxiety level (1-5): Level 2, Not too much anxiety on this one because I just knew it was going to suck. I think the success of the last few CCZ's is making me less anxious about new challenges.
How it went: This task had several steps so the build up was intense. I started by finding the supermarket butcher and asking where the liver was. Super uncomfortable because it took 2 of them to find some. I thought even they were going to hurl. Next, you should have seen the look on the supermarket cashier's face... Beef liver, water chestnuts and grapefruit water. It's hard to even type. I cooked them on the grill because I wasn't having that smell in the house. Salt and pepper only. I added some onion and squash because guess what?! My kids did the challenge too!
View attachment 22892
Immediate Reaction(s): This absolutely turned my stomach...on so many levels. The grapefruit water was terrible. The water chestnuts tasted like a salt, vinegar apple. But nothing, I mean nothing would approach the sin of that liver. It was so bad It made the other items good! I found myself eating and drinking the other stuff just to avoid the liver. I kept fighting it though and got about half of it down.
Reactions after an hour: Stomach still churning. I keep telling myself "that liver was bad man" over and over.
Final Reaction: I hope there is no final reaction...but I wouldn't bet on it.
Willingness to repeat (1-5): 1, No. I'm not doing this again.
Notes: This CCZ was pretty uncomfortable. Each step represented an opportunity to either give up or cheat. I just kept moving forward. I'm taking that as the lesson this time. Embrace the suck and just keep moving man!
I only lasted 20 seconds though
That's awesome @Timmy1990 ! Man, try to make it the whole time. Try to get where it doesn't feel cold anymore. It will change your day and maybe more!
Do daily activities with opposite hand for a bit.
Ok so did it again lasted over a minute this time, also asked for a discount on my coffee at Macca's that was the worst, worse than cold shower. What was even more cringe was she was shocked I asked and I had to ask twice..did I get it no.
Everytime I walk in or out of a door frame. I do 5 push-ups. 5 in. 5 out.
That's awesome @Timmy1990 ! Man, try to make it the whole time. Try to get where it doesn't feel cold anymore. It will change your day and maybe more!
Also I think it depends on how cold the water is. In my gym the water doesn't even get all that cold while at home it gets cold enough to hurt a little bit.
-CZ related-I thought I would test the theory as I thought it was seriously cold as not many are man enough to use it. So I hit the cold shower at our sauna twice in succession to see if I was right. OMG I got brain freeze!! It hurt like hell.
But, after reading Goggin's book
I started his book a few days ago. I find it awesome how it ties in to my experiences in this thread. I especially love the 40% rule which I have now tested. Results will be out soon!
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