Micro Avoidance Stalls Success

Micro Avoidance Stalls Success: Print/PDF for AV Screen

Stanford research shows that micro-avoidance—the tiny habit of dodging temporary awkwardness, hard tasks, or tough feedback—gradually stalls your long-term success. On the flip side, leaning into discomfort as a sign of progress boosts motivation and keeps you moving forward.

Why Avoiding Discomfort Hurts

• The Micro-Avoidance Trap: Small decisions to delay a hard conversation or skip a risky project add up over time, creating career plateaus.
• The Fixed Mindset: It’s easy to view awkwardness or initial failure as a personal flaw, which makes people give up instead of pushing through.
• The Comfort Loop: Stress triggers a quick “freeze” response, making physical comfort feel like the safest choice in the moment.

How to Reframe Discomfort

• Treat it as a compass: View awkward feelings as a sign pointing directly toward growth, not a stop sign.
• Flip your stress response: Reinterpret physical signs of pressure—like a racing heart—as your body getting energized and ready for action.
• Embrace the struggle: Treat stumbles and tough tasks as valuable learning steps, not reasons to quit.

Some examples I see in our groups all….the….time:

• Skipping tough referral feedback when a referral didn’t go smoothly.  It is important for us to share what can be done different next time or relay standards that are part of your process.
• Ignoring attendance issues with a specific member.
• Face-to-Face meetings  with key referral sources to ask, “How can we give and get more value from each other?”  What processes can we work into our giving process?
• Passing on contact info without proper warm-ups (e.g., forgetting to ask, “Is it cool if I introduce you two via a 3-way text?” which dramatically boosts close rates).
• Failing to implement proven best practices for giving referrals.
• Skipping quick follow-ups: For instance, a recruitment chair not taking 90 seconds after reading an invite script to ask, “Who found someone they want to invite?”
• Ignoring chronic lateness or members leaving early.
• Delaying awkward removals: Knowing someone needs to be let go from the group, but avoiding the conversation.

⏱️ Quick Group Exercise (2–3 Minutes)   Take a couple of minutes to reflect constructively:

1. Where is our group micro-avoiding things right now?
2. Where are you personally micro-avoiding something in your business that’s costing you?

Shout them out! Give them a quick share and discuss. Almost every time, someone in the room has a simple, practical fix on something they did to get better at it.