UNcomfortableಮಾದರಿ

“Show me the last time that you were uncomfortable, and I’ll show you the last time you grew.”

I have made this statement many times within my life.

In group meetings with my sales team.

On stage while speaking to thousands of experts in my industry.

I’ve preached this word during sermons, and chances are, I will again.

Getting uncomfortable can look like many things. For some, this may be as simple as starting a new job. It may mean taking on newfound responsibilities due to unforeseen circumstances. We feel uncomfortable many times throughout our lives.

We’re supposed to, at least.

Throughout our childhood, we experience physical and mental growth. The differences in mental capacity between a three year old and a three month old are astounding. The change and transformation that we see in nature, that we see in our peers, and that we see in ourselves are through the direct result of being uncomfortable.

Don’t you think that a caterpillar goes through a period of discomfort while they’re becoming a butterfly?

Life isn’t meant to be comfortable. We aren’t meant to go through life pretending as if everything is 100% comfortable, 100% of the time. But understand that these periods of discomfort are serving a purpose.

That purpose is change.

I can’t claim to be the same person that I was ten years ago. I can’t pretend to be the same then that I was ten years before that. I am constantly changing and transforming, striving to be better than I was. Many reading this probably feel the same. You have been through so many trials and tribulations in your life. You have become something different.

But sometimes, we put growth on hold.

We decide that we’re too tired to be uncomfortable anymore. We’ve grown too much. We’re too old. We’re too this and too that. We convince ourselves that we’ve earned the right to be comfortable. We remain stagnant, paralyzed with the fear of change. The fear of the unknown.

Yet, if we want to become the butterfly, we’ll have to spend time as a caterpillar. And we’ll have to go through the transformation.

I declare this year to be a year of growth. A year of discomfort. A year of change and transformation.

So, I’ll ask again,

When was the last time that you were uncomfortable?