"Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life." — Susan David
I started a new rowing program this week.
And in order to calculate the effort I'll be aiming for in each workout I needed to start with a baseline test, which was 6 minutes at MAXIMAL effort.
If you've never done a max effort attempt, let me tell you...it sucks.
And no matter how fit you are or how fit you become, it will always suck.
Because it requires you to get uncomfortable.
To feel your lungs burning and your body aching, but to keep pushing.
To hear your brain telling you to stop, but to keep going.
Now you might be wondering...am I training for something special? Do I have some kind of event coming up?
Nope.
I'm also not trying to lose weight or "get lean".
Honestly, I don't even care that much about improving my cardiovascular fitness.
The reason I started this new program was to force myself to get UNCOMFORTABLE.
For the past few months my training has been challenging, but a level of challenge that I'm comfortable with. A level that doesn't intimidate me.
Which is fine when it comes to staying healthy in general.
But exercise isn't just a tool for strengthening ourselves physically.
It's also a tool for strengthening ourselves mentally and emotionally.
And when I think back on the times in my life when I've felt the most mentally and emotionally resilient,
Those are also the times when I was getting uncomfortable in the gym more often.
So, I'm embracing the discomfort this rowing program will bring because I know that,
Getting uncomfortable is the only way to grow.
But most of us shy away from even the smallest discomforts.
🐻 We have AC and heated car seats so we don't have to tolerate the discomfort of being too hot or too cold (like a modern day Goldilocks).
📦 We have Amazon prime so that we don't have to tolerate the discomfort of waiting 3 whole days (basically forever) to receive that package we desperately need.
📱 We have Google, Siri and Alexa available at our beck and call so that we don't have to tolerate the discomfort of not knowing who sings that song that's been stuck in our head for the past week (it was Jon Secada btw).
Now, in the grand scheme of things...these small comforts are probably not what's keeping you from being your most resilient self.
But if you're living the majority of your life inside the safety zone of "comfort", then you're probably also...
❌ Saying "yes" when you really want to say "no" so you don't have to tolerate the discomfort of someone else being upset with you.
❌ Keeping your thoughts and opinions to yourself so you don't have to tolerate the discomfort of someone disagreeing with or judging you.
❌ Not putting yourself out there (for that promotion, that second date, that sales pitch) because you don't want to tolerate the discomfort of rejection.
And if that's the case...
I encourage you to ask yourself the following:
What does avoiding discomfort COST me?
Because here's the thing...
If you want a better relationship with your partner,
If you want a healthier work/life balance,
If you want to be more fit,
If you want to feel more confident,
The only way to get there is to get uncomfortable.
To have the awkward conversations,
To set boundaries,
To say "NO" (to yourself and to others) more often.
That stuff doesn't feel great.
But the more you do it, the easier it gets.
So if there are parts of your life that you aren't happy with right now,
And if there are changes you've been struggling to make,
Then chances are you need to improve your ability to tolerate discomfort.
Now, that doesn't mean you need to go do a max effort row test (unless you're weird like me).
It also doesn't mean that you need to start with the REALLY uncomfortable stuff.
Instead, just start with one SMALL step outside your current comfort level.
Maybe it's switching from a venti Frappuccino to a grande iced coffee.
Maybe it's trying a new fitness class.
Maybe it's establishing one "TV free" day per week.
And once that gets comfortable, take another small step.
Pretty soon you'll be able to take bigger steps and tolerate more discomfort.
And eventually you'll find yourself at a place where you intentionally SEEK OUT ways you can challenge yourself to get uncomfortable,
Because you'll discover that if you master this skill, you can master pretty much anything.
Want some help with getting outside your comfort zone?
Book a call to find out if coaching is a good fit for you.
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