The Science of Success Podcast

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How To Demolish What’s Holding You Back & Leave Your Comfort Zone with Andy Molinsky

Lace Gilger
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In this episode we discuss why people struggle to reach outside their comfort zones – and why it’s so critically important that you do, we explore the 5 core psychological road blocks stopping people from stepping outside their comfort zones, we go deep on how you can become tougher, more resilient, and embrace discomfort, how you can master the art of small talk, what you need to do to cultivate the skill of “global dexterity” and much more with Dr. Andy Molinksy.

Dr. Andy Molinsky is a professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at Brandeis University. Andy is the author of Reach: A New Strategy to Help You Step Outside Your Comfort Zone, Rise to the Challenge and Build Confidence, as well as Global Dexterity: How to Adapt Your Behavior across Cultures without Losing Yourself in the Process. He has been featured in Inc., Psychology Today, The Harvard Business Review, and was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices for 2016.

We discuss:

  • Lessons from interviews with students, teachers, police officers, rabbis, priests, entrepreneurs, goat farmers - and the common lessons of WHY people struggle to step outside their comfort zones

  • Why do people struggle to reach outside their comfort zones?

  • The vital importance of stepping outside your comfort zone

  • The 5 core psychological road blocks / challenges that make it hard to step outside our comfort zones

  • Authenticity/Identity/Self image

    1. Likability

    2. Competence

    3. Resentment

    4. Morality

  • Imposter Syndrome and how it can trap you in your comfort zone

  • Our “amazing capacity” to avoid discomfort and seek relief

  • What happens when people avoid uncomfortable situations

  • How we can often create imperfect substitutions for situations we want to avoid

  • How our minds rationalize excuses so that we can avoid uncomfortable things

  • “Fear is about predicting the future” and we are often poor predictors of our own futures

  • If you want to achieve your goals you usually have to step outside your comfort zone

  • Specific tactics and strategies you can use to step outside of your comfort zone

  • How conviction can help you step outside your comfort zone and push you

  • Customizing and tweaking situations to make them slightly more bearable can help you take that first step

  • The danger of “catastrophizing” and always assuming the worst case scenario

  • The power of clarity and getting clear on the truth about what you want, and what the worst case scenarios are

  • How we can build resilience and make the pursuit of discomfort stick

  • The power of a learning orientation and growth mindset to give you the ability to step outside your comfort zone

  • Stepping outside your comfort zone starts in your mind

  • The power of desensitizing yourself to things outside your comfort zone, and what happens when you continue to have experiences outside your comfort zone

  • How to deliver bad news to people, fire someone, and have tough conversations

  • The dysfunctional conversations that might arise if you don’t know the right way to deliver bad news

  • The vital importance of mastering the art of small talk & strategies for mastering small talk

  • Why every meaningful relationship you’ve ever had (other than family) started with small talk

  • Focus first on building camaraderie and rapport, then trust

  • Listening, making connection, asking questions in an open ended way

  • Developing global dexterity and learning to act outside of your cultural comfort zone

Thank you so much for listening!

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This Episode of The Science of Success is brought to you by our partners, That Moment Podcast. That Moment explores the pivot that changes everything: moments that open doors for discovery and growth, but also bring the looming possibility of failure. Each show features different leaders and innovators sharing their stories of taking risks in business and in life. That Moment is produced by Pivotal, who believes when change is the only constant, people and businesses must be built to adapt. Get the details of their first episode "It Was Essentially Disrupting Ourselves" here and check them out on iTunes, Google Play, and Soundcloud.

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