Beyond 40%: Why Comfort Is Killing Your Performance (and Your Organization)

I haven’t missed a workout in more than five and a half years. Every day, I show up, I lift, and I count to ten a lot. But if I’m honest, I rarely push myself to a full sweat or true exhaustion. Every day is a good workout. Almost none are “all the way.” I check the boxes I have created for myself to complete my mandatory workout and call it a day.

My workout pattern shows up other places beyond fitness routines. We operate at what feels like an acceptable effort, then stop, right at the edge of our comfort zone. The uncomfortable truth is most of us have tapped into about 40% of our actual capacity.

Former Navy SEAL and current author David Goggins made the 40% rule popular when he said, “When your mind tells you you’re done, you’re only at about 40% of your actual capacity.” While this is not a precise lab measurement, it is a great reminder that fatigue and optimal effort are largely brain-driven as a protective mechanism.

If that is the case, then we are leaving 60% of our potential unused. Like my workouts, that is a design problem. And leaders who learn to push themselves and their teams beyond that 40% ceiling create a massive advantage.

This reminds me of a couple of great quotes from elite athletes. Tom Brady, who built his incredible career on preparing himself at the highest level physically and mentally, said, “Most people don’t want to be pushed that hard. They want to be pushed to their level of comfort.” Walter Payton was asked how he kept in such phenomenal shape, and he responded, “I try to kill myself every day.”

I am not advocating burnout or literal self-destruction, but I do believe these quotes point to the same reality. Growth begins where comfort ends.

So how do we push beyond the 40%

1. Honesty is really the first step. Like with my workouts, I check all the boxes I created, but honestly, I probably need more boxes. I created my own glass ceiling, and how can I break it down if I can’t admit it exists? Organizations often fall into this “good enough” trap, and the only way out is to be honest about our capabilities.

2. Design a culture of discomfort and accountability. Plan hard days, set difficult targets, and figure out a way to hold yourself accountable, or find coaches, managers, and mentors who will push you past your self-imposed ceiling. When someone else holds us accountable, it isn’t a punishment; it is a partnership. This can be done in organizations through consistent and honest feedback.

3. Track it, it seems like I say this in every article but that’s because its true. What gets measured gets managed. I track my workouts, but I need to do a better job tracking the effort level and change some targets to generate more effort. Sometimes tracking results are the only way we can understand that we are capable of more.

The stoics believed in deliberate hardship and felt like it prevents us from becoming soft and fragile. It prepares us for the unavoidable hardships that life throws at us. What I love about playing sports is difficult moments are consistent and unending and we have to become resilient.

Growth doesn’t happen in our comfort zone. All the greatest leaps in my life happened when I pushed myself out of it or was pushed out. The individuals and organizations that reach elite levels understand this and they are able to tap into that other 60%. Like my workouts where in your life or your organization are you settling for good enough? What could you change in your day, your team, your mentality to get beyond that 40% ceiling?  

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