(Just back from a run.  David standing and me sitting down recovering.)

Driving into the multi-storey car park attached to Fenwick’s Department store in Colchester, I am caught up in a protracted line of cars as a huge SUV is reversing into the tiniest of car parking bays.  I have counted five attempts so far and my immediate thought is ‘any fool can be uncomfortable.’ 

Forty years earlier I have just returned from a long run around Mons with my roommate David Sandell –  we are both based at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium – and I mention about doing something ridiculously complex and ask David for his advice David turned and said, “Any fool can be uncomfortable.” 

I am not sure if it is because he is a Royal Marine Commando that he has a ‘saying’ for every occasion, which abbreviates thirty minutes of feedback from anyone else.  In one phrase he nails it – why do I need to make my life difficult when it does not need it to be?  It would not be the last time David used this phrase with me.

There are times in life when you do have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.  Usually when it is important and urgent.

Related:  Being Bettina’s Dad – Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable – Leadership in the Raw 

However, if it is not important and is not urgent, then this post is about not making your life uncomfortable when it does not need to be. 

Five Questions to ask when faced with a situation?

  1. What is it you want to achieve for your efforts?  Have you thought it through? Often when I do, an easier and simpler option presents itself.
  2. Is there an easier way/route you can take? There are two routes I can take when I need to travel northwards from my home in England.  One is a shorter and quicker, however, according to the sat nav it takes me to a difficult intersection where, several years ago, a lorry crashed into my car.  The other is a longer, relaxing route.  Whenever I can, I take the latter route because “any fool can be uncomfortable”.
  3. Is the task needed? If so, what would happen if you did not do it?
  4. Am I carrying baggage I do not need?  This was something I often needed to consider during my first career, when I was loading up my Bergan (rucksack).  What is it I am not likely to use and weighing myself down unnecessarily?  This question works for other aspects of my life too.
  5. Have you faced this problem before?  What worked?  Do that!  My life experiences have taught me there is nothing new under the sun. The recurring nature of human experiences and inventions. We may perceive something as novel or unique but it is often likely a modification or repetition of something that has already existed or occurred.

Don’t make life difficult for yourself – Five Tips to stop that happening:

  1. Don’t set yourself up for failure.  I have just written our 10 Objectives for my company’s Business Plan.  They look challenging to an external audience, but I know they are comfortably achievable, I would not have written them otherwise.
  2. Just because it is a priority for someone else, it does not mean it has to be for you.  Living your life on your own modest terms rather than someone else’s.
  3. Don’t over complicate things by over-thinking or analysing the situation.
  4. Reach out to others and ask them for their perspective.  Often those you speak to do not have a stake in your situation and therefore can often see an easier path through the forest when you cannot see the wood for the trees. 
  5. That sticky problem you are trying to find a solution to, adopt the attitude of: If you can’t mend it, then live with it.  Either way it stops being a problem.

Related:  https://leadershipintheraw.org/2017/04/13/cutting-down-the-odds/

The large SUV eventually parks, and I quickly drive past before he decides to reposition his vehicle (again).  I drive to one of the top levels of the car park where I know there will be fewer vehicles and space on either side to park.  Why make your life uncomfortable when it does not need to be?

Forty years ago, ‘any fool can be uncomfortable’ became the 10th leadership lesson I learned and one I have benefitted from since, thanks David.  Although Joyce, my wife has shortened this phrase to “any fool Steve?” which is equally effective and immediately brings me back into line.

Footnote:  About David Sandell — David Sandell | Artist  David is an award-winning portrait and landscape artist based in the heart of the English countryside, working primarily in oils, pastel and pencil for portrait commissions; original oil paintings and limited-edition prints.