Leaning Into Discomfort

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 17 Conversations

 

Welcome to the discomfort zone.

A place you visit infrequently for all too short periods of time.

Today however, we’re going to get comfortable with discomfort.

Is that even possible?

It absolutely is when you lean into discomfort instead of resisting.

palm trees, Kihei, Maui

It takes leaning into it intentionally because mostly, we’ll do anything to avoid discomfort.

“Discomfort means you’re doing something that others were unlikely to do, because they’re hiding out in the comfortable zone.” – Seth Godin

 Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result.”

I say discomfort is a result of doing something new.

Every time you say yes to something new, discomfort arises. 

And resistance is never far behind.

Your resistance will look like reasons:

  • why you shouldn’t move forward
  • why it was a bad idea in the first place
  • why you should go back to what you were doing before.

So many reasons lulling you to sleep and inaction.

Your lizard brain is like that; it will say anything to get you to stop.

Except, you keep having these thoughts and dreams. . .

Dreams so wondrous they make your heart race.

Trust those dreams, and yourself to take the next step.

“The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” – M. Scott Peck

 

How do you become comfortable with discomfort? 

1. Breathe.

inhale to get through the discomfort, photo of the Sunshine Coast

Stop the doing and the thinking and just breathe. Feel whatever is going on in your body and breathe into it. Five slow, deep breaths will make all the difference.

 

2. Take your time. 

Your dreams may take more time to realize than you think. But when you take consistent action on what’s important to you, you can’t help but move forward. You will start to produce results. Stop rushing about, and take more time.

“A good way to rid one’s self of a sense of discomfort is to do something. That uneasy, dissatisfied feeling is actual force vibrating out of order; it may be turned to practical account by giving proper expression to its creative character.” – William Morris

 

3. Calm down.

You can’t take consistent action if you’re stressed and constantly berating yourself. Do 5 minutes of something relaxing or fun before getting to work. 5 minutes will not throw off your day. Just do it 😉

“Any change, even a change for the better is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.” – Arnold Bennett

 

4. Focus.

Houseboat village, Langley, BC

Overwhelm is a slippery slope that is like fuel to the fire of discomfort. Stop. Choose one thing to work on and do only that until it is complete.

 

5. Set a timer.

This might sound a bit crazy but set the timer for 5-10 minutes and let yourself feel the discomfort. Notice you’re still alive, and nothing bad happened. Discomfort is not necessarily what you think it is.

“Emotional discomfort, when accepted, rises, crests and falls in a series of waves. Each wave washes a part of us away and deposits treasures we never imagined.” – Martha Beck

The feelings that arise alongside discomfort are valuable, for they provide information. They let you know when you need to slow down, refocus, and sometimes, make new choices.

 

And remember…

‎”The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

It’s the little things and moments that turn your dreams into reality.

 

17 conversations started on “Leaning Into Discomfort”

  1. I already did Sandi. I dedicated a post to my brother in law who died on Saturday. Still with the death theme, still thinking I’ll scare people away and still not finished with it. Yeah, I want to hide back in the pre-August 2012 world where we talked about fun things and queried about the mysteries of life – not death. But here I am. At least now I know what to do – lean in and breathe. The wake and funeral are still ahead of me.
    Lori

    1. Lori I think that you’re willing to talk about death, as uncomfortable as it is, will draw people to you, not scare them away. Leaning into it isn’t easy, but it’s better than resisting which is normal. Takes courage, which we’ve talked about before and which you have my friend.

      1. Sandi Amorim Lori It’s a bit of a catch-22. I’m doing it and I don’t like it and I have to do it. What to do with that?

  3. I had one of those famous epiphanies in the shower a few years ago where I realized pretty much every single problem I had was caused by resistance. It’s usually the resistance that causes the discomfort, not the actual doing of the thing! Love the William Morris quote for that reason.

    1. Sue Mitchell Yup, I love when I find the perfect quotes to go with what I’m writing! And I’ve had many of those ‘doh’ moments, catching myself in resistance. Human beings are amazing and crazy, aren’t we? 😉

  4. Yesterday I replaced a kitchen faucet. I’m not fond of the word “try,” but I have weak fingers because of arthritis and wasn’t sure I was strong enough. I told my husband I really wanted to try to do it myself, to prove to myself I could do something unfamiliar. (I do like mechanical things, am very fond of my screwdriver.) It took me several hours but I didn’t have to go to any hardware store after starting. I did it with a bit of rah-rah from the beloved, who left me alone as I wished.
    Today? Designing some knitwear patterns backwards from how I’ve become comfy doing it knit first, self publish), and leaning into the industry standard so I can be paid by a yarn company. It’s a new thing for me but it’s time for me to learn it.

  5. Yesterday I replaced a kitchen faucet. I’m not fond of the word “try,” but I have weak fingers because of arthritis and wasn’t sure I was strong enough. I told my husband I really wanted to try to do it myself, to prove to myself I could do something unfamiliar. (I do like mechanical things, am very fond of my screwdriver.) It took me several hours but I didn’t have to go to any hardware store after starting. I did it with a bit of rah-rah from the beloved, who left me alone as I wished.
    Today? Designing some knitwear patterns backwards from how I’ve become comfy doing it knit first, self publish), and leaning into the industry standard so I can be paid by a yarn company. It’s a new thing for me but it’s time for me to learn it.

  6. I’m giggling because this post is PERFECT for what’s going on with me right now.  I broke my little toe yesterday and pulled off half the toenail, so I am leaning into the physical discomfort of that.  What is interesting (at least to me since it’s my toe!) is that most of my discomfort is in my head because I’ve always been super squeamish about losing nails.  If I would stop resisting looking and thinking about my toenail and lean into it, I suspect I would feel less discomfort and maybe even get over my lifelong squeamishness.  I’ll let you know just as soon as I have the courage to do the leaning.  Who knew there are life lessons to be learned right down to our toes?!  🙂

      1. Sandi Amorim Carol Hess Ain’t that the truth.  Ouch!  (Methinks I was rushing at the time when I broke my toe. I needed to read Sabrina’s comment above.)

  7. I was all about leaning into my discomfort yesterday when my perfectly perfect plans for growing my business got thwarted by a (worthwhile) distraction…fortunately I had enough sense and loving intuition to keep that discomfort from turning into pain and just allowed myself to be with it for a moment, knowing that I would start anew today 🙂
    And this? This is so important…

    Your dreams may take more time to realize than you think. But when you take consistent action on what’s important to you, you can’t help but move forward. You will start to produce results. Stop rushing about, and take more time.

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