I’ve just started working with a personal trainer. Don’t worry, this isn’t me turning into a fitness influencer. Or planning on sharing before and after photos. So far, I’ve had one session. We spent most of that discussing my health and what I hate about exercise.

It was not a comfortable session, but comfort is unlikely to be the key reason anyone seeks out the services of a personal trainer. The only comfort that is likely to be forthcoming is waistbands fitting more comfortably ( although I could just buy a bigger size?).

Inflicting discomfort on myself seems to be a key theme for 2026.

It’s been a few years since I last looked at my brand DNA. So I decided it would be a good idea to test out the process I currently use with clients. I often tell people to find out what their customers actually think and experience, instead of what they assume they do. I figured it could only improve my delivery of Brand DNA sessions and give me some great insights.

The results have been excellent. The discomfort levels have been high. Maybe that made working with a physical trainer seem a lesser evil.

It turns out the brand DNA process has a lot in common with exercise. It feels like hard work with no instant reward. The results of changes to diet and activity levels take time to show.

Furthermore, have you ever told a personal trainer that you’re exhausted and can’t do any more? Only to have them tell you to do another set. Every time I thought I must be getting close to done with my brand DNA, I’d have another look with my business coach hat on. And then I’d tell myself to dig deeper and stop using vague phrases.

I’m really selling the Brand DNA process, aren’t I? Or maybe I’m weeding out the business owners who are not the right customer. If you’re looking for all the answers in an hour, then look elsewhere. 

I thought I’d have the whole thing wrapped up in a week without stopping to consider how my business has evolved since I last looked at its brand DNA.

Basically, it comes down to realising there are no shortcuts to being an expert and that’s what my Brand DNA process does for you. It makes you a complete expert on what you do. You might think that you know your business and the direction you want it to go in now. I suggest you might think differently after a deep dive. 

Sometimes we don’t know how uncomfortable we actually are.

Drilling down on those really matters because unless you do something pretty unusual then you likely have competitors who offer a similar service or product at a similar prices. Why would they choose you? That’s what your brand DNA will help you to answer.

Understanding your brand is like completing a fitness boot camp. You work hard. You wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea and were willing to part with money in order to do it. You think about quitting but you don’t. Then you get to the end and realise you have something you didn’t have before. Something that you could only get from working through the discomfort.

When I work with a business, they’re probably going to feel uncomfortable at some point. That’s because something isn’t working for them. They wouldn’t be working with a business coach and consultant if everything were perfect.

The things that aren’t working are going to require change, and no one likes change. There’s a surprising amount of comfort in the familiar (even if it’s not comfortable and isn’t helping your business).

When we say that we’ve done everything we could, we usually mean we’ve done everything we feel comfortable with. Maybe we tried some of the hard things, but quickly concluded that they weren’t worth the time.

Do you want some good news? I’m not going to make you do anything. Like a trainer, I’ll make you do it to yourself and you can throw in the (sweaty) towel at any point.

I think you won’t, though. If you’ve made it this far, then you want to learn how to face the discomfort. That’s what business support is there for. The coaches, the consultants and the mentors are there to help you face the discomfort. To guide you and help you find solutions.

Taking the time and discomfort to revisit my brand DNA was totally worth it. Now that the refreshed version is in place, I can plan my social media content and review my website. It’ll be easier because I am now the world’s leading expert on Richer Solutions.

Why should you choose to get comfortable with being uncomfortable for a while? Let me quote my personal trainer to explain why this is a process you should consider: It’s going to be hard work, but the results will be worth it.