No one likes to be uncomfortable. I personally try to avoid discomfort as much as I can. I don't think I know a single person that wakes up in the morning and says, "You know what? I think I'll put myself in an extremely uncomfortable position today". We are totally selfish as human beings and spend a great deal of time looking for the easy way out.
Let's take dating for example...it sucks. At 31 years old, I cringe at the thought of going through the motions of a new relationship. Most of my friends are married and agree dating is a nightmare. In order to have a relationship at this age, you have to be willing to put yourself out there...to get out of your comfort zone. It's a very scary place, let me tell ya. I think I'd rather run The Bear with a rabid dog chasing behind me. Deep down inside, I'm stoked at the thought of a new relationship, but all the bad outcomes have made me fear the outside world. The world outside of THE COMFORT ZONE.
When I moved back to Tennessee, I was pissed off at the world. What was I going to do here? There's no big pow...no snowboarding...no Yosemite. I was leaving my dream town...my friends...my life. I wasn't thrilled with my decision to move, even though I knew it was the right thing to do. I was well beyond the walls of my comfort zone. It wasn't comfortable...at all. It was sink or swim. At first I wanted to sink...and I honestly didn't care that I was giving up. My soul was gone and I had lost every ounce of my spirit.
At some point, I pulled myself together...slowly. The more time I spent outside my comfort zone, the stronger I became. When I started to look back at the last few years of my life, I realized I spent a good deal of my time outside of my comfort zone. Climbing....which soon turned into one of my true loves. Skiing...especially pow. I was a snowboarder...what do you do with these two sticks?? But I learned. New relationships...good and bad...all equally heartbreaking. I survived. I survived it all. I actually turned out to be a pretty descent human being in the process.
Training for my first half has been uncomfortable. The majority of my runs have been painful. My head has been my worst enemy and I'm really struggling with the mental aspect of my running. Some days I wonder if I'll even be able to run 13.1. I have been sticking to my program and working harder than ever to achieve my goal...but that voice in my head won't shut up. I gave myself a high five after last night's crossfit workout because I finally told my "voice" to kiss my ass. It worked. I was proud of the effort and know I will see results if I continue to push myself.
Why are we so scared to step out of our zone? Are we afraid of rejection? Scared we might look stupid? What if we are missing huge opportunities for success simply because we don't want to be bothered by discomfort? I'm guility. You have to take a good, long look at yourself...what do you want? What do you want to be? What do you want to accomplish? Anything worth having is worth the blood, sweat and tears. No one ever said "Doin' Work" was easy.
I guess it's time to HTFU and press on.
OBVIOUSLY NOT MY COMFORT ZONE....
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