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Jim L. Smith has more than 45 years of industry experience in operations, engineering, research and development and quality management. You can reach Jim at faceofquality@qualitymag.com.

Jim's Gems: Don't Get Comfortable

September 19, 2011
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Although it may be tempting at times, do not let yourself get too comfortable. Feeling comfortable can drain us of the desire and aggressiveness to follow our most treasured ambitions.

It is a wonderful experience, after an accomplishment, to look back with pleasure to remember how far we’ve come and what was achieved along the way. It’s normal to give ourselves a pat on the back as a reward for our hard work. However, even the most satisfying accomplishments begin to lose their value to us as soon as they are achieved.

Certainly, it is great to spend some time in pleasant surroundings, basking in the warm glow of satisfaction for something we’ve worked hard to achieve. Yet there is so much more to life than pleasure and comfort.

We are at our best when we are moving toward a meaningful, positive and ambitious goal. As each goal is reached, we need to use the position we've attained to stretch even higher.

Think about food for just a moment. No matter how delicious, satisfying and filling our most recent meal may have been, in just a few hours we will need to eat again to sustain our energy and our lives. We need to learn to see achievement in the same way.

Just as food sustains our body, achievement helps to sustain our inner spirit. As we work toward a worthy goal, we become the best we can be.

We’ve already made a lot of progress. However, let’s not tarry long in our comfort zone. Let’s use the momentum to catapult us to the next level and keep on stretching and achieving more great things.

If we want to accomplish all the things that are important to us we need to do the best that we can. Keep reaching toward that next goal. Zig Ziglar, author and motivational guru, once said “Success is the doing, not the getting: in the trying, not the triumph. Success is…reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” ”

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