Embracing discomfort
The over-arching theme of things on my mind this week has been about our deeply rooted need for discomfort. That sentence likely feels paradoxical to you, and that is precisely my point. Our natural tendency as humans is to seek comfort — and to avoid discomfort. But that is a sure-fire recipe for stagnation. You simply cannot grow into your possibilities if you are not willing to stretch.
This article really resonated with me. Personally, I have struggled with this. On the one hand, I set ambitious goals that push me to strive, to become “better” as a person. Continuously endeavoring to make myself into a better version of myself is one of my core values. But — it is too easy to get caught up in the thinking that “I will be happy when…” mindset, buying into the mistaken belief that things will be better after you achieve your ambitious goal. You will feel better — for a short time. Then you adapt to the new reality, and now what? The other danger here is in beating yourself up for feeling that you come up short. The nature of big goals is that they are hard — and you don’t yet have the tools you need to get there. Achieving your goals always seems to take longer than you would like it to, and it is easy to end up beating yourself up for falling short. Story of my life.
Being discontent with how things are is a sign that you are on the right track; that is how you know you are striving to be better. We need meaningful goals to push ourselves toward. We need the discomfort; without sorrow, there can be no joy. The struggle isn’t to be avoided; the struggle is the exact point. By making progress through struggles, you get a sense of accomplishment and meaning.
Another article that talks about needing to “embrace the suck”. The point of the author is that we will only improve by getting out of our comfort zone. By definition, that is the only way that we can improve and grow. But our human tendency is to try to avoid discomfort. This creates tension in us, and the article tries to encourage us to look at the discomfort as a positive, a sign that we are stepping in and doing what we need to do to improve.
Quote that I have been reflecting on
“Money is a great servant but a bad master.” — Francis Bacon.
Journal Prompt
This week’s journal prompt will challenge you to embrace discomfort. It does not need to be big and scary; something that just pushes you out of your comfort zone. Something that you can commit to leaning into.
“What is one thing that I can do this week that will make me uncomfortable, but that might move me closer to my goal?”
Let me know what you come up with. And then take the action. You will likely find that once you do it, those feelings of fear and discomfort will have transformed into feelings of excitement.
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