We spend so much of our life avoiding discomfort. And it’s fair, because there is always a level of discomfort that is unbearable, and there were times in your life – particularly your childhood – where avoiding discomfort was the best thing you could do to survive.
However, if you ever do want to get past your shit, if you’re fed up with how you currently are, the only way out is through discomfort.
In my work with clients, this is probably the most important guiding principle. When we see a point if discomfort, we run towards it. It’s a clue to a part of ourselves that needs attention, that is not in alignment.
Paradoxically, we invite ourselves to feel the discomfort as freely as possible. We give it permission to grow as big as it needs or wants to be. We imagine the air we’re breathing in as feeding into it.
The first thing that often happens is, it gets bigger. The fear, the pain, the anger, it grows, having finally been given a say. And then, after some time, it subsides. It did what it needed to do, it expressed what needed to be stated.
The more we practice this, the more we build what I call our Emotional Pain Tolerance. And, since life is full of pain, it allows us to live life more fully, tolerating its ups and downs. It allows us to processes bigger shit, faster.
If you’re ever wondering what the best thing for you is, chances are it’s the uncomfortable option. Because the only way out is through.
