Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

The phone rings and it's an unfamiliar number. You pick up anyway. The person calling you needs you to perform with their group that same evening! However, there are no charts and no time to rehearse. They tell you that the spot will have drums and you will just need to bring a few things.

Once, you arrive at the venue to prepare, you notice that the drums are in poor condition and the bandleader who is hiring you is arriving just before downbeat. Now, you really need to try to catch all you can on the fly for the sets of music that await. Some minor adjustments and then it's time to take the plunge!

How many times were you called upon to deliver with: little to no prior access to proper materials, new environments, teams of people that you never collaborated with, and minimal to no supportive resources to guide you? ...while remaining centered and focused-yet flexible.

Stanley Cup winning coach Ken Hitchcock shared these simple words when asked about his players and how he helps shape their collective approach, "...be comfortable being uncomfortable." 

We are living in a time where scenarios, technologies, and decisions continue to change at an increasingly rapid pace. The ability to adapt and make decisions at the blink of an eye are now a necessity and longer a luxury. Those who get comfortable doing the same things and recycling the same strategies and paradigms are doomed! 

Changes are challenges. Continue to embrace being in uncomfortable terrain and you will eventually become comfortable in any situation!