Walking Through Discomfort is How We Grow

Many of you are ready for change. Ready to become the next version of yourself. Excited to think about the next steps in life. But, then when you take a few minutes from your hectic life your mind quickly runs to DISCOMFORT.

To grow and change we can’t avoid discomfort. Most of us want to run far away from discomfort and huddle in our safe place—the place we feel safe.

What if we change our mind-set to:

Going through discomfort will get me to my dreams.

Discomfort can be interesting.

Discomfort can be challenging.

Discomfort is just a feeling created by a thought!

You are at a cross-road and get to decide if you use discomfort to propel you forward or to hold you right where you are at this moment. This year I made a commitment to walk through 52 things that make me uncomfortable. I have shared this concept with friends and most ask the same question while displaying a puzzled face, WHY? I am currently an observer of ME. I am doing this to watch my thoughts, pay attention to my feelings and watching on my own movie screen of my life how I am preventing growth and telling old, sad stories.

Most of the 52 challenges are not grand like swimming with sharks or bungie jumping from the tallest building, they are normal everyday things that prevent me from growth.

One example, this week I took a hand-build pottery class. To you that may sound like fun. To me it seemed dreadful. My story that I had on repeat in my head about making (“pots” I learned that terminology in class) included: I don’t like my hands to get dirty, I don’t want clay under my fingernails, I am not artistic, Someone will discover my artistic talent is at a pre-K level, cold-wet things make me cringe. I can tell you, I could spins a story for ever about why I would NEVER take a pottery class.

But I did. I walked into the classroom and I was anxious. I waited for the teacher to come by and share with the class that I was doing it incorrectly and use me as an example as to how not to work with clay (replaying dome distorted story from childhood).

Guess what, the teacher came to me and told me I did it perfectly. WHAT…me? I found the clay wasn’t cold and it wasn’t wet it was damp. My hands did get dirty and I had to dig it out from under my nails (I noticed potters don’t spend their money at the nail salon—they are buying cool pottery supplies).

Did I make a cool “pot”? Well I still am not sure how a tile is a pot but I will go with it and yes I was proud. I was proud that I walked myself though another challenge (this is challenge #10) and watched where I would normally quit. Next challenge, the pottery wheel (my stomach is already turning at the thought of dirty hands and dirty clothes.Many of you are ready for change. Ready to become the next version of yourself. Excited to think about the next steps in life. But, then when you take a few minutes from your hectic life your mind quickly runs to DISCOMFORT.

If you are ready to talk about the discomfort that you are facing lets get together for a quick 30 minutes consultation and see if I am the right Life Coach or Career Coach for you.