19 Jul 2021 · 8 min
In this episode of the "Workout" podcast, Brendon Burchard explores why high performers avoid stagnation by operating in a "necessary zone" rather than a comfort zone. He explains that plateaus in career or personal life often stem from a preference for ease, not from external obstacles. By framing growth as a non‑negotiable necessity—driven by identity, role‑model responsibilities, and a fear of being replaced—individuals sustain motivation and continuous improvement. Burchard shares anecdotes, including two NFL legends who view relentless self‑push as essential to inspire others. He contrasts this with typical New Year’s resolutions that fade because they lack true necessity. Listeners are guided to examine their own lives—career, relationships, health—and articulate why improvement is indispensable, encouraging journaling and concrete self‑questioning to ignite lasting drive.
Chapters
If you feel that you've been here too much, your career has flatlined, right? You're in a plateau moment in your career, which is okay. But a lot of people hit that, right? They really worked hard, hard, hard, hard, hard. And then they plateaued. And they're wondering, why am I plateaued? They're not driven, not because they're sabotaging themselves. It's not because they're in a bad mood. It's not because the kids, not because of the team. That at some point when we hit that plateau, there's usually a reason why we started guiding our days and we started thinking about our ambitions from our comfort zone. And our comfort zone, this line around it is really a line of preferences. I don't feel like working that hard today because you don't have to. You're already there, right? You've climbed the mountain, you're good. And you're like, man, can't I just enjoy the view for a while? And I'm like, absolutely. Enjoy the view. Love the view. Set up camp on top of the mountains, shout out from the rooftops, have children, start a farm, you know, start making your vegetables. Live up there in comfort as long as you want. And then one day you'll go, there must be something. It's just the human ambition for growth, for contribution, for deeper levels of connection and giving that drive so many of us. And so it's okay if you feel comfortable. But what I'd like to suggest to you today, if you feel like you've been there a little too long, I got an idea that might help that I believe that the reason that high performers hit excellence isn't because in their comfort zone, but they're in the necessary zone. I think it's important for all of us to find necessary if we are going to amplify our life to the next level. Look, if you're in your comfort zone, you're doing things because it's easy. It's a preference. You got good at it. It's a skill, it's a knowledge, it's a core competency. It's cap capability you can do, and you feel good about yourself. The reason high performers stay high performers so long is because they believe it is necessary to continue growing. It's necessary to put in the training, the practice. It's necessary for them to give more, to serve more, to contribute more. It's necessary for them to grow in their character. It's necessary for them to deepen their relationships. It's necessary for them to feel more alive. It's part of their identity that it is necessary to grow. It's not like a hope, an idea. It's not even an aspiration. It's a must. It's a necessity in their day. It's like. I was talking recently to two NFL players. Great guys, legends, right? I'll show you what's really cool as we're talking. One guy was talking about his hunger for being on the field, and he was talking about how the other people around him who were also, by the way, they're all NFL players, they were good, too. This guy's a legend. And he said that the main difference between what he felt like he did and other people did is he felt it was necessary for him to keep an edge. That's what he said. He says I have to keep that edge. I have to be pushing myself. Because if. If I'm not pushing myself, then what ends up happening is other people pass me. And it wasn't just competitive for him because I said, is that it? You gotta beat other people? Is it an ego thing? Goes, no, no, no, no. He goes, because, Brendan, they look to me. He said, they look to me for inspiration. They look to me for leadership. They look at me as a role model. If I let off and I fall into a comfort zone, not only will I prob that won't last because it is so competitive, but I also won't be able to inspire the people around me. And at some point, I'll get bored. And as he was describing all that, I was like, wow, how many times in my life I've heard high performers talk like that? He's not saying I pushed myself so hard because I want to win. That's not what he said. I pushed myself so hard because I'm scared of the people replacing me. That's not what he said. Pushed himself because he wanted to grow, but he also knew he was a role model. People were watching him. I want you to think about any level of growth that you're really gonna have in your life. The only way you sustain it and keep breaking through is it's a necessary thing for you. I mean, look at how many people who start a great New Year's ambition. It's an interest. And they do. They step outside their comfort zone. They go to the gym 1, 2, 3 times. They take those first baby steps, but they don't stick to it because it wasn't real for them. It wasn't necessary to become healthy. A lot of people become very healthy, the most healthy in their life after Surviving something. Broke their leg, got sick, saw somebody die, and they said, you know what, I gotta change. And it became real for them. See, most people, they wait too late in their life to find necessary. So your partner walks out on you and says, well, I've been telling you to get better, but you never got better. And now all of a sudden, oh, let me make better. I'll get better. I'll get better. I get better. Waited too late to find necessary. I gave you the chance that I'm out of here. You never found necessary in your mind, so you never got better in that relationship. Does that make sense? People wait until tragedy. They wait until scarcity. They wait until obligation. They wait until that very last moment because it's so much easier to be comfortable than to try. So I'd like to thank first and foremost for your relationships. What relationship in your life do you need to find your necessary in that, like, decision? Like, it's necessary for me to be a better dad because why? It's necessary for me to be a better wife because why? It's necessary for me to be a better team leader because why? If you never ask that question and you're not clear about why it's important to you, obviously we know from, you know, everything we've studied in psychology, you lose motivation. There's no reason. There's no drive, you know, there's no ambition and expectancy that we're going to reach it. There's no motivation. And so your relationship, what's necessary now? Think about your career. Why is it necessary for you to be excellent at what you do? Why can you articulate it? Can you journal on it today after this, maybe you sit down. What's my necessary in my world right now for my career? Think about your health. Why is it necessary for this year to be the year you get healthier? Why? Why is it this year, right now, you're going to quit smoking? Why is it this year you're gonna stop drinking all your calories? Why is it this year you're gonna stop overeating? Why? Why is it necessary? Because, look, if it's. You're gonna fall back in your comfort zone, you're just gonna keep smoking, keep drinking the calories, keep overeating, you're gonna stop working out? Because it's easier. It's easier. This is a path that feels so good. It's the path of least resistance. But it also leads to early death. You know, it also leads to relationships that are unfulfilling. It also leads to careers that are minimal and never scaled to the appropriate level because no one knew what was necessary. I work harder than I need to because for me, it's necessary. I work harder, I focus, I develop, I practice. It is the fundamental identity of a high performer to know what is necessary for me to develop, to grow, to give, to connect. And. And if you have not clarified that, that is why you don't have more motivation.