The value in discomfort

What is comfort, really? It is about certainty, isn’t it? Why are we so attached to comfort? What is the value in comfort? What is the value in discomfort?

For years, one of my group agreements during trainings has been Lean into discomfort. I offer this for many reasons. I want to invite you to be okay with discomfort; be okay with not knowing; uncertainty. Discomfort holds freedom, growth, and opportunity. If you raise your awareness of your comfort zone, and agree to be willing to stand at the fence between comfort and discomfort, you would be allowed to explore many parts of yourself. Exploring your levels of comfort and your comfort zone allows you to decide what you are comfortable with and what you are willing to try. I believe it good to push the boundaries of ourselves in a mindful and loving way.

The awareness of being uncomfortable can challenge your thinking and allow you to stretch yourself to make a different choice. Discomfort invites you to ask yourself, “What is going on with me?” Discomfort puts your life long learner part of you into action. You can build up the courage to try something new. In the space of discomfort you can identify any triggers and how the past can effect decisions. Whether the discomfort is physical, emotional, spiritual, there is real information about the self. Our bodies provide clues to our emotional centers and any discomfort is trying to send a message. Are you listening?

Why is “being comfortable” so positive? How positive is it to be complacent? How positive it is to be closed off to limited beliefs and rules? How positive is it to place limits on oneself? How positive is it to be too familiar?

I guess this is the life longer learner in me, speaking. Call me an optimist and I see value in all experiences whether we experience discomfort or not. Perhaps we should shift from wanting to be comfortable to wanting to be happy. Historians have followed “comfort” and have found much of the basis of the definition to come from class disparities; growing from the notion of trying to find the middle ground between luxury and necessity. Some historians believe that the notion of comfort sparked the development of human rights and the call to end slavery. Sounds to me like more than just discomfort did that.