Jim Harbaugh's Refusal to be 'Comfortable'

Summer two-a-days were intense — and the redshirt sophomore was out to prove himself after not playing the previous season.

So in between the grueling sessions, he would go on extra two-mile runs in the blazing heat.  

The extra workouts weren’t simply about staying in shape, though. They were really about getting out of his comfort zone and pushing himself while his competition rested. 

More than four decades later, that redshirt sophomore, Jim Harbaugh, coached the University of Michigan to its first National Championship since 1997 on Monday night, defeating the Washington Huskies, 34-13.

It's been a whirlwind journey for Harbaugh, who’s had a total of a dozen stops in his playing and coaching career. 

Through it all, the ability to be comfortable with being uncomfortable has helped distinguish him. 

“Comfortable is not a word I have ever associated with sports and football. It’s a confusing word for me,” Harbaugh told author Seth Davis in the book Getting to Us.

There are two takeaways from his work ethic we as leaders may want to consider: 

1. We’re all capable of giving a little more 

Harbaugh didn’t have to go on the extra runs, nor did he have to volunteer to play special teams at the beginning of his NFL career. But the decisions to do so were as much about mental conditioning as they were physical, Davis writes.

Regardless of our work, we as leaders would all benefit from finding some sort of mental edge over our competition. It may steam from our work ethic or simply a willingness to try something others are reluctant to. 

The point is that the elite in any industry don’t get to the top by following the pack. They’re constantly seeking an advantage and looking to do the things that others find crazy.

2. Discomfort builds resolve  

“On your foot, if you’ve got the wrong shoes and you get a blister, it’s soft and pussing, and then eventually it pops and calluses over,” Harbaugh told Davis.

“So, the body repairs itself, and then it’s tougher and stronger.”

Harbaugh has been building metaphorical calluses for years — constantly looked to push past his pain threshold and conditioning himself and his team for hardship. Among his unique gifts is an ability to hit a proverbial wall and keep going despite what appears like a roadblock. 

The lesson isn’t that we should never take a break or that we should seek some insane level of conditioning.

It’s that when adversity hits, we can all do better to attack it, get better and develop resilience through the experience.

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