Our mind has evolved to protect us from what is painful. This protection has moved from just the physical. Our brains have become very good at moving our decision making into a place of avoiding painful experiences.
“Without pain, without sacrifice, we would have nothing”
Fight Club – Chuck Palahniuk
While this maintaining of the status quo protects us from pain, it does not help us to grow. We need discomfort in our lives, to learn, to experience something new, to provide us with new context and perspective.
“Great things never came from comfort zones.”
Neil Strauss
When we step out of our comfort zone, with time, patience and learning, we make what was once out of our comfort zone, into the zone.
Devote yourself to learning and to growing, and when you do, you have to accept that discomfort serves a powerful purpose.
We suffer the more we try and avoid pain. It cannot be escaped. Our minds already try to avoid pain, and when we run from it, this becomes a habit loop that is difficult to break. This multiplied with how even the small stuff, when avoided, begins to torture you, as you multiply your fear of being hurt.
Break the habit cycle. It won’t be easy, but confront the painful and uncomfortable.
Don’t wallow in it. But stare it right back, and roar.
One mechanism for breaking the fear response that is crippling you as part of this habit loop, is to take quick and decisive action. Just do it.
As an example, if you are afraid of speaking up at work, and you are at a meeting and have an idea. The moment you think of the idea, speak. Don’t ponder and consider whether to talk or not. —Once you consider it, your habit response will kick in and protect you from the pain of speaking up. You’ll never do it. And each time, you don’t do it, the fear of doing it confirms your habit response.
Development Geek 