We are who we are used to being.
Throughout our lives, we begin to form an identity of ourselves. Someone we think we are. Someone we become comfortable being.
Discomfort arises when your personality is being tested. When there is something that could threaten it. Something unknown.
We all have a built-in survival mechanism that exists to make life easier for us, responding to things in the same way and exerting the least amount of effort necessary. When we are doing things we regularly do, we barely have to think about what we are doing, we are on autopilot.
For example, tying your shoes. If you had to relearn how to tie your shoes every time it was necessary, then a lot of mental effort would go into tying your shoes. Thankfully once we learn how to tie our shoes and we get the hang of it, we no longer have to think about it too hard. Our body knows how to do it so well that you don’t even have to be aware of what you’re doing.
It is so hardwired into us to seek the known, the comfortable, and the effortless. But that is not how we grow. We only learn and grow by facing the hard things, by inviting challenges into our lives, and by feeling uncomfortable. Because everything new will feel uncomfortable. It should feel uncomfortable. The unknown should challenge you. To think in new ways, make new connections in your brain, and grow through experiences.
What we must realize is that discomfort is not something to run from, it is something we should invite. Celebrate your pushing the boundaries of the known. Pushing the boundaries of who you think you are. Realizing that you live in an infinite world of infinite possibilities, and you get to choose how to be.
Becoming familiar with discomfort
I read a blog that talked about how if you do something, even something small, that pushes you out of your comfort zone every day, then you will build this mental muscle that will make the unknown a little less scary. For example, most people don’t like cold showers, we crave the comfort of the heat. But it is said that if you try showering with cold water, even if it is just for a minute every day. That little bit of discomfort will train your brain to take on the discomfort the unknown may bring you.
Of course, taking a cold shower is not the only way, but it is an option. The unknown, once done enough becomes the known. So, cultivating self-awareness is important for knowing when you have reached your comfort zone again and what you have to do to keep pushing the boundaries of your personality.
How you do anything is how you do everything.
How you do the simplest things in your life will determine how you execute on the biggest.
By overcoming your discomfort by taking a cold shower, you are teaching your body that it is okay to be uncomfortable. When faced with a bigger task, your body will recognize the feeling. It will recognize how you feel before you step into the cold and how you are still okay once you are out. Even though it won’t be the same, your body will recognize the traces of the feeling. And just like you have trained your body to tie your shoes, your body will step into the unknown a little easier.
You are not defined by your personality, you are not your personality. You are infinite. Even though it is hard to break free from the habit of being yourself, it is not impossible. It just takes a determined will.
Get to know yourself outside of who you think you are.
Who do you want to be?
What do you want to bring into your life?
What do you want to create?
How can you leave your day better than when you started?
There is no set persona that you have to act as. You are choosing who to be every moment. Whether unconsciously or consciously, is up to you to decide.
Until next time friends,
Camila Tracanelli
