The Danger in Surprise Discomforts
An excerpt from “Be Bold and Win the Sale” by Jeff Shore
When we are thrown by an unexpected discomfort we have a double concern to deal with:
1) The discomfort itself
2) The emotional trauma of being caught unprepared
It would be in our very best interest to have a method in mind for dealing with unanticipated discomfort, but I realize it would be unrealistic to expect that anyone could follow a “Four-Step Plan for Overcoming Unexpected Discomforts on the Fly.” It might look good on paper but it would never work in a real-life sales encounter.
The tactic must be simple, and it must be driven first by an attitude and then by a technique. If we can get the mindset correct, we will see our technique follow suit in the form of an auto-response.
When you face a discomfort, get your attitude right first; your technique will follow.
This is going to sound like really strange advice, but I want to talk about how to make a seemingly ugly discomfort pretty.
Suppose you are mildly hungry and you head to the fridge. You find exactly one slice of three-day-old pizza. That slice of sausage, mushroom, and pineapple was delicious when it hit the table, but today it is well past its prime. You make your decision: “That pizza looks nasty, and after all…I’m really not that hungry.”
Now suppose you are on a hike and you get lost in the woods. You wander for three days before stumbling onto a deserted cabin. By this point you are starving and you go to the fridge to find…a slice of three-day-old pizza. Now what are you going to do? You scarf it down! And while you are inhaling that pizza you notice something: it is the best tasting pizza you’ve ever eaten!
The point is that the brain has the ability to define beauty on its own terms according to the situation. You can choose to see discomfort as being ugly or beautiful, and that is one hundred percent your call. Our primal reaction is to cast discomfort into the category of “ugly.” I suggest that it is time to rise above and rethink that.
Consider weightlifters. Those involved in serious resistance training will tell you that they anticipate “the burn,” that moment when their muscles feel like they are on fire. The burn is evidence that a workout is at its highest intensity. Muscle burn is welcome pain to a weightlifter as it provides evidence of growth. In this case pain (discomfort) is seen as a beautiful thing. No pain, no gain, right?
This is all a matter of perspective. How do you choose to see discomfort? How do you choose to deal with it as it comes upon you?
Notice the word: choose. You are not a helpless victim in the face of your own discomfort. You can—and you must—choose to respond in a more productive manner. The most productive manner of all is to choose to see discomfort as a beautiful thing.
I want to encourage you to find a way to make discomfort enjoyable. See it as a guiding friend rather than an adversarial foe. Accept and appreciate that the path to growth leads through your discomfort. As such, this should be exciting. Great things are right around the corner!
“Everything else can be taken from a man except for the last of the human freedom’s; the ability to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” – Victor Frankl
If you change your mindset, you will change your world. Equip yourself with timely, powerful tools to conquer your inner discomfort, win more sales and create amazing results for your customers and yourself: sign up for my weekly, FREE, instructional/motivational video, The Shore Thing, at jeffshore.com.
