Entrepreneurs, startup enthusiasts or just employees or average Joes, everybody striving to improve, be it in work, sport or personal life, has to go beyond habits and comfort.

It is easy to do what we like. Or pick a topic of interest and become knowledgeable about it.

Improvements come through challenges.

After a discussion I started looking into my everyday life (routine ?). Actually, not a routine as there are challenges to face and some that I create but they do remain comfortable enough, especially when it comes to sport.

I like sport and can still cope with much challenges without putting an awful lot of effort into them.

So I decided to look into things I like but to which I suck. And one of them came knocking : art. Painting, drawing, etc … definitely forms of art I like to see and would like to be able to do but which I truly struggle to do at an even acceptable level. Or even get near something we could call an achievement.

The next step came quickly in the form of buying a sketchbook and some proper pens. Before getting my hands dirty at trying. And trying. And trying.

The result, so far, being about average poor, more or less, but it is still a great pleasure to see that the commitment and hard work have allowed me to (slightly) improve.

The lessons learned and to be learned.

Getting comfortable doing something uncomfortable is a learning process. A long and continuous process which might eventually pay off. Just might.

Going creative in a different way is just refreshing (and a good way to clear the brain from the laptop/smartphone/apps combination).

The journey here is similar to a startup one. You get inspired by others, discover, get ideas, learn, fail, a lot, and get back on track. Develop, improve and strive to keep improving.

These are the main takes for now but the story goes on. I will keep learning, falling and rising again and never reach the summit of what I am doing.

So I will keep training my discomfort.

And you, what is your recipe for kicking your own butt ? Tell me in comments.