"The shell must break before the bird can fly." — Alfred Tennyson
When is the last time you were uncomfortable? (and not because your dog insists on taking over the ENTIRE bed...or is that just a me problem...? 😜) But really, when was the last time you INTENTIONALLY made yourself uncomfortable? Over and over again I hear from women that they want to be HAPPIER, that they want MORE and BETTER for their lives — that want to change. Well...change is uncomfortable. But for myself and most of you reading this right now, our lives are pretty darn comfy. Now, there's no shame in enjoying all the comforts that modern society allows us...BUT, It makes us pretty soft. And I'm not talking the "ate a few too many Christmas cookies" kind of soft... I'm talking the "WAAHHH... I have to take my gloves off to unlock my phone because face ID won't work with my mask on" kind of soft...
So, if you REALLY want to create change in your life,
You'll need to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable.
This is one reason I love strength training so much.
But you don't have to squat until you legs give out to get better at pushing through discomfort.
You can take a cold shower.
You can sit in silence for an hour.
You can speak up at a work meeting.
You can stop putting sugar in your coffee.
Or...you can scale the outside of a skyscraper more than 1,200 feet above the ground and then lean out from the highest outdoor platform in NYC (like I did over the weekend 😲).
Whatever you choose, it doesn't have to result in any immediate positive feedback or reward.
Simply having the experience of "doing" increases your confidence and helps you build skills to deal with future problems that may arise outside of your comfort zone.
And the more you practice being uncomfortable in one context the more skilled you'll be at handling the challenges the come along with being uncomfortable in another context.
It has a ripple effect.
Now, just like any other skill, tolerating discomfort improves with practice.
And for practice to be effective, it needs to be frequent.
So, if you are aiming to make some changes in your life this year,
You're going to need to step outside of your comfort zone OFTEN in order to make it happen,
Not just once or twice, but DAILY.
You will need to challenge yourself over and over again.
And each time you do, you'll build your confidence and your skill at tolerating discomfort — both of which are required to create the change you want for yourself.
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