Discomfort is the Currency of Your Dreams
Discomfort is the currency of your dreams. When I first heard Brooke Castillo say this on a podcast I listened to, it really resonated with me. It got me thinking that every goal or dream that I have ever accomplished in my life has required that I get uncomfortable. Discomfort is just a feeling/emotion. Humans want to avoid discomfort at all costs by “staying in the cave.” This keeps us in the so-called “comfort zone” which essentially just keeps us playing small – there’s no growth in the comfort zone, there’s no growth in staying in the cave.
Our primitive brain tries to “keep us safe by staying in the cave,” but if we allow all the uncomfortable emotions like fear, overwhelm, and confusion to rule our life we are not going to get the results that we are wanting. This is why it is so important to realize that you have the power to change the results in your life by managing your brain better. I like to call it mind management.
This is what mind management looks like, and it’s a great tool that I was taught by Brooke at The Life Coach School as I became certified as a life coach. This mind management is also call The Model, here’s what it looks like:
Our circumstances are neutral UNTIL we attach a thought to it. In other words, our circumstances can trigger a thought.
Our thoughts generate the emotions that we feel.
Our emotions/feelings drive our actions. Our emotions are what drive us to take action or inaction in our life.
Our actions generate the results that we get.
Basically, the thoughts that we think over and over again give us the results that we get in our life. This is why it’s so important to manage your mind so that you can get the best results that you can in your life.
As I think back to when I first started running, it was super uncomfortable but I was willing to do it because I had a goal to get in the best shape of my life after having 3 kids in 3.5 years. I hired a trainer and he pushed me hard in the weight room and then I was on my own when it came to running 4 times a week. I can still recall huffing and puffing through every run. As I kept at it I got better and I was able to increase my mileage. Then, as I got in better shape I made a goal to do a 10K race. Did that. Then I signed up for a half marathon and trained for that – and I’ll tell you that there were many times during my training and the half marathon that I was super uncomfortable, yet it was so exhilarating to reach my goals aka get the results that I wanted. Once I did the half marathon I went big and I signed up for my first ever marathon. Sure, there were thoughts of doubt that crept in my brain saying “there’s no way that you can do this,’ but I shut down those thoughts fast and looked to my past as evidence that I could do anything I put my mind to. And yes, I ran that entire marathon and it was amazing to cross that finish line knowing that I can do hard things when I put my mind to it and take action.
Like I said our FEELINGS/EMOTIONS are the driver in our life. They drive all of our actions. If we feel only discomfort we might choose not to do anything at all. We might just “play it safe” because discomfort might have thoughts like: this is too hard, I’m not capable, I’m not strong enough, smart enough, blah blah blah….you get the picture. What I’m trying to say is that my past experiences with setting goals and attaining dreams is that I have felt high levels of discomfort but at the same time I have felt a deep determination to accomplish those goals. So yes, you can feel DISCOMFORT and DETERMINATION and even DISCIPLINE all at the same time to accomplish your goals and dreams. It took a lot of all of those things plus massive action on my part to accomplish my goals to run on a consistent basis and to run races in a time frame I had for myself.
After four years of running marathons, I set a goal to qualify for the granddaddy of all marathons: THE Boston Marathon! And guess what, I did it!. That was a hard and uncomfortable goal but I did it!
I want you to know that it’s true: DISCOMFORT IS THE CURRENCY OF YOUR DREAMS, no matter what they are. We are not meant to play small in our lives. We are all created for greatness but we have to BELIEVE that and that starts by managing your brain. Live your life and everything you do with full purpose.
What do YOU choose to believe? Will you CHOOSE discomfort so that you can accomplish the things you’ve always wanted to? Are you willing to take massive action and show yourself what is possible? I hope so!
xoxo,
Tammy
I’d love to offer you a free 30 minute call where we can go over what goals you want to accomplish. Life coaching has blessed my life, so much so that I decided to become a life coach myself. I coach women that are searching for their purpose in the throes of motherhood or entering a new phase of life, I help women increase their confidence by teaching them valuable tools to clean up their thinking and I also help women by teaching them the tools to improve the relationships in their lives. If this interests you, sign up here on my website for a free consultation or comment below. I look forward to it.
