Does change frighten you? Do you get paralyzed with discomfort, and find growing and adapting to new things challenging? Then read on below to know how you can use discomfort of an unfamiliar situation as a weapon to work in your favor. How To Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

How To Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

When your life is following a particular routine day by day, any sudden changes can be quite unpleasant. Most people find comfort and safety in following a preplanned schedule. Knowing that life tomorrow is going to be exactly like it was today can bring a peace of mind that most people welcome. 

It makes you feel in control and allows you to prepare yourself better for what’s to come. It’s warm, it’s predictable, and it’s safe, just like your home.

But nobody ever availed great opportunities while sitting at home. Imagine if Columbus had decided to stay home rather than set sail across the Atlantic. 

And what if Bill Gates never left his hometown and went to college? Microsoft might not have been built to this day, and we would be hundreds of years behind in computer technology today!

Being Uncomfortable Is The True Key To Success

It is because these individuals – and others like them – went outside their comfort zone that the world is what it is today. The key to success lies just beyond your comfort zone – you just have to go ahead and grab it!

Among the many things that make us uncomfortable, change of any sort tops the list. However, the fact remains that difference is also probably the essential thing to ensure our survival. From the beginning of time, humanity has survived and thrived because of our ability to adapt to change. 

Though it is undoubtedly uncomfortable for a while, change pays off hugely in the long run. Being comfortable with this temporary discomfort is the secret to winning at life.

How can you be uncomfortable with your power?

It is important to note that not all discomfort has to be bad. Sure, nobody likes being in an uncomfortable position (unless you are a masochist, of course), but the right bit of uncomfortableness can actually work in your favor. 

There are ways that you can make this unpleasant thing your power, and use it to ensure success! Here are some ways how #IChoose to deal with discomfort.

#IChoose to accept my feelings rather than pretending they don’t exist

Change is uncomfortable. We get it. But like we pointed out earlier, it is also inevitable and essential. Whatever you do, you can neither stop change from happening nor run away from it. And this is why people do the next thing that comes into their mind. They run away from their feelings of discomfort. This is where they go wrong.

When you cannot control something, you try to control your reaction towards it. You try to tell yourself that the thing that inconveniences you is not so bad after all. It has not messed up your life, and you can still go about like before. However, this lying to oneself is not productive at all.

For you to be genuinely comfortable with discomfort, you need to accept your natural reaction towards it. Never try to tell yourself you do not feel some emotions just because they are challenging to deal with. Instead, welcome these emotions with open arms. When you are aware of your own feelings, only then can you manipulate them to serve you. 

#IChoose to look at discomfort from a positive light

Once you have accepted that you feel a certain way, you can see these feelings as opportunities instead of inconveniences. So, you are uncomfortable with how your bedroom wall looks. Look at this as a motivation to beautify your home instead of something that constantly irritates you. And while you are repainting your bathroom wall, you can go ahead and do your living room!

Discomfort is an instigator for positive change. It is only when you are uncomfortable with something that you decide to make it better. These are the things you should be telling yourself, instead of cursing the lemons life has decided to hand you.

#IChoose to disregard any nonsense worries that my mind tries to convince me of

When it comes to change, our discomfort usually stems from the fear of the unknown. What will happen next? How can I respond to these developments? Does this change mean that I will have to start everything all over again? Do these new developments bring bad times with them?

What if I fail to adapt myself to this unfamiliar situation? Questions and concerns like these swarm our heads all the time. But the truth is, many of them are irrational, and we are just paranoid about what lies ahead.

What I do in these situations is to disregard any nonsense worries consciously. #IChoose to dive deep into the mind, and evaluate how many of these concerns are actually authentic. And then I put the irrational ones in a virtual trash can in my mind. This little exercise makes me much better prepared to handle the situation logically.

#IChoose to educate myself on the dangers and work out effective solutions

While I am trying to get rid of illogical concerns, I will inevitably come across a few that actually make sense. So what do I do with these genuine concerns? Do I let my mind overthink these and worry itself into oblivion?

That is one way I could go, but it definitely would not help me feel better. Hence, #IChoose to turn to a different option. One that is not only much more productive but also helps me feel in control of what’s happening. I decided to look for answers to these problems and work out effective solutions.

#IChoose to create a support network for myself

Thinking out logical solutions that work for the various problems I am likely to face certainly gives me an edge over all that is happening. However, I would be kidding myself if I said I could go through significant changes on my own. Whether it is motherhood, going back to college to get my degree, or anything else – I have always valued a support network for helping me through these challenging times.

So, when you are going through something that especially makes you uncomfortable, make sure you have people around that you can trust. Whether it is merely listening to your rants, offering solutions and advice, or jumping in and helping you out of a particularly tricky situation – your support network will make things a hundred times better.

#IChoose to remind myself of the good things that lie ahead

Things are not much fun when you are stuck in an uncomfortable slump. But for them to get better, you need to power through and work in your existing circumstances. However, being in an unpleasant situation for a while can have a significant impact on your ability to work your way out.

For this reason, you need to keep your motivation up always. I choose to do this by reminding myself of all the good things that lie ahead. I tell myself that I need to only get through this little slump, and then everything will pay off.

#IChoose to take a leap of faith and jump right into the change

Oftentimes, our fear and hesitation of adapting to a new situation last only until we jump into the situation wholly. It is much more the apprehension of jumping in, rather than the actual jump. So, a great way to get comfortable is just to get started.

By taking the plunge and fully immersing yourself, there is no unknown left to fear. Once you are smack in the middle of what you once feared, you might discover it is not at all as challenging as you expected when you were standing on the bylines.

#IChoose to expand my comfort zone bit by bit

A direct jump into the ocean of change is undoubtedly an excellent way to get rid of any irrational fears, but what should you do when you do not have a significant change coming up? When all is calm and serene, can you still prepare yourself for challenging situations? How do you grow in stagnant water?

Even when I am not looking at a significant change, I make sure to keep things interesting by pushing my limits. I like to expand my comfort zone bit by bit – whether it is learning a new language or to try out a new sport. This not only opens some significant doors for me but also helps me to learn how to cope when I face a much more dire change. 

Wrapping it up

Being uncomfortable with situations that are not familiar is natural. However, this discomfort should never stand in your way of achieving something great and growing. Discomfort does not always have to be a negative thing that you wish never happened. In fact, this same feeling can be used to further your achievements! You Got This!

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