One of the hardest lessons I ever learned was to be comfortable with the thought of being uncomfortable. But getting out of my comfort and and being uncomfortable has been what has moved me forward the most.
Be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
In a lot of ways, this is a strange thing to say. How is one comfortable with being uncomfortable? When we are in an uncomfortable situation, many of us get anxiety and enter the fight or flight mode. Our heart rates increase, we may have trouble focusing, and the overwhelming urge to step back into something more comfortable. But the key here is to recognize that this is a normal reaction to a new situation and that given some time it will pass. Think back to the first day of starting at a new school, a new job, or even joining a new social group, at first their was likely some anxiety, but after a short while you find a place in the group adding more to you .
How has being uncomfortable help to push me forward? I started learning the Japanese language several years ago and after passing the JLPT N5 I decided to take a leave of absence from work, my first break from work other than a long weekend in 5 years, and spend three months in Japan at a language school learning Japaneses. The first two months in Japan, I could not speak a word to Japanese person outside of school as I was so concerned with making a mistake even though many attempted to speak with me and I could even understand a fair amount of what they said. It was not until the final month when I made a conscious effort to start to speak, and it was nerve racking, that my Japaneses skills started to move forward and did they start to move forward fast. Yeah, I made a lot of mistakes when I first started speaking, but I quickly realized that many foreigns had spoken English to me back home and struggled at first and I had work with them and that others would do the same for me. Well it was uncomfortable, it was normal to have that feeling and something I now openly talk about with other language learners.
Now at this point you might think, I am different already as I had traveled to the other side the world myself and that was just as uncomfortable. If I had not had basic needs to acquire food I probably would not have left my apartment after arriving in Japan, but I am happy I did as I got to learn about a culture and way of life so different than my own and after a few days it became easier.
One last, less extreme, example is public speaking. When I was younger I struggled with public speaking and frequently would feel ill just at the thought. My fear of public speaking was bad enough to the point where in college I would drop classes that had presentation requirement. After talking with others, I realized quickly that many are uncomfortable with this and each person had different methods to cope. After this I made a point of pushing through my first few presentations and these days anyone around me would be shocked that I struggle with presentations with the frequency I give them.
If I had stayed in my comfort zone, I would never have gained these new skills and perspectives. I would also have never realized how important it is to recognize that is normal to be uncomfortable.