We all have things we want to change about our current situation.
We might want to change our spending habits or something in our marriage or our weight or how we parent our kids or our level of fitness.
But change is not easy.
And our brains are wired for finding the easiest way to do things.
Easy is doing what you always do. Easy is doing what feels comfortable.
Change, on the other hand, requires you to feel uncomfortable.
This is one reason why it’s so important to make exercise a part of your daily routine.
It’s not just because it’s good for your body and brain.
It’s also because moving your butt is uncomfortable. And making yourself physically uncomfortable is something you can do anywhere and anytime.
Practicing being uncomfortable physically makes being uncomfortable emotionally more tolerable.
Because we learn that we are capable of surviving discomfort. It gives us some experience and wisdom to fall back on.
Whether it’s physical or emotional discomfort, we learn to recognize that we will come out on the other side stronger than we were before.
Practicing being physically uncomfortable, practicing struggling doesn’t have to be a huge, massive ordeal.
You don’t have to run a marathon.
You can walk right out your front door and go for a walk.
Even if you are going for a stroll at a leisurely pace, that is more uncomfortable than sitting on the couch with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s, bingewatching This Is Us.
You can drop down on the floor and do 1 push-up, and commit to that every day for the next 7 days. One push-up a day.
Or try one minute of stretching. That is not a huge amount of discomfort, but it is a start.
And enter the discomfort focusing not on how crappy it is in the moment, but instead on how you will feel when the discomfort is over. The end result.
Making changes in your life is easier when you get into the mindset of embracing discomfort. Of embracing the process of change.
Just because something isn’t easy doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable.
The process of growth and change can be extremely gratifying and satisfying while also being challenging.
It just takes a shift in your mindset.
Embrace discomfort.
Head into every day asking yourself, “What am I gonna do that’s uncomfortable today?”
The more you practice this, the easier it gets.
Then change becomes something that is less about being torturous and uncomfortable, and more about seeing how you are making progress.
And once you get to that point, then there’s really no stopping you.
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