When was the last time you felt uncomfortable?
Has it been a while?
You see, discomfort is actually a good thing. I know it feels awkward, but more often than not, it is a great sign. It means that you have stepped a little (or a lot) outside of your comfort zone.
It often pops up when we are doing something new or even just thinking about doing something new!
It may surface when we are doing something that we don’t feel totally confident in.If we’re learning, if we’re exploring and if we’re putting ourselves out there in the world, we often will experience the feeling of discomfort.
Everyone experiences it in their own way. You may feel it in your stomach. You may feel it as a general buzzing kind of nervousness. Some people may feel it as a very distinct urge to retreat, to completely avoid a situation altogether.
The most important thing about discomfort is how you deal with it. Most of us assume if we have discomfort in our lives then there’s something we’re not doing right or there’s something wrong with us. Not true. Everyone experiences discomfort, no matter how confident they may look to you from the outside.
So it’s not about if you experience it, but rather how you choose to view it and deal with it.
Discomfort is a sensation we feel when the brain is signalling some kind of fear. The brain is doing this simply because we are doing something new, where it does not feel familiar. You can use discomfort as a sign that you’re learning, that you’re challenging yourself to grow outside your normal sphere.
So, how do you deal with it?
Firstly, you want to recognise that it’s normal. Nothing has gone wrong. Then you can reassure yourself that it’s a sign that you are really stretching yourself. And that’s a good thing. The most important thing is to not resist the feeling. By resisting the feeling you will amplify it. If you accept that you are just feeling a bit jittery or awkward, and that’s okay, then you will find you can deal with it much easier.
How you treat the experience of discomfort will determine how much you can fully embrace opportunities to create your best life and best business. So, remember, you have a choice in how you choose to view it and in accepting the feeling momentarily. Because inevitably, the feeling will pass and you will be glad you stretched yourself.