Growth Requires Discomfort

“The enemy of a great life is a good life”. Read that again. “The enemy of a great life is a good life”. When life is good, we sit back, we ease our foot from the pedal. It feels good to coast. The pressure is off. We can breathe, regather our strength and replenish our resources. But maybe good is sometimes bad! When we get comfortable we don’t want to venture away from the comfort. It’s cosy. The fit is just right. When do we decide that it is time to push forward again? Where there is comfort, there is stagnation.

In order to grow, achieve and succeed discomfort is necessary. The irony is that we must become comfortable with discomfort. Often we are compelled to move when we are already experiencing discomfort from not having taken the initiative to move in the first place. It is the “carrot and stick” scenario. We’re either driven by the stick or led by the carrot, depending on how bad your situation is or how badly you want what you don’t have. In most cases it is the stick that drives us.

A classic example of growth through struggle is the transformation of caterpillar to a butterfly. The caterpillar isolates itself from the world in its cocoon. It goes through a maturation process where its body changes naturally. One could liken this to gaining knowledge or acquiring tools. The kicker is the implementation of these new tools. Just before the newly grown butterfly leaves the cocoon, it must go through the challenge of breaking itself out. That process of squeezing itself out releases chemicals that activate its wings so it can live as it was transformed to live. The struggle also helps it to develop the necessary strength to live. It is not an easy process, but a necessary one in order to complete its transformation, to live life as it is meant to.

How many of us are stuck in our cocoons, fearful of the challenge of breaking out for fear of failure? How many of us are too intimidated to break out and go through the challenge of what is needed to complete our growth, to live as we are meant to? The struggle is necessary to build the strength to realise our growth and support our success.

This is where cultivating self-leadership is so valuable. Get comfortable with discomfort. Recognise and acknowledge your emotions: fears, concerns, disappointments, hesitancies; and learn to regulate them so that you are free from your ego. By doing so, you are no longer your own obstacle. You will take hold of opportunities and open your world to strength and resilience.

If you want more, get comfortable being uncomfortable.