To Avoid Pain, Embrace it Now
Getting by is NOT enough. Survival is not the goal. We were not made for comfort.
Physically, your body is either getting stronger, or weaker. Every day, you get up and make a choice between degeneration and rejuvenation. What’s it going to be? The comfortable path, the couch, the inactivity, will lead to one place: PAIN. Inescapable, inevitable pain.
Pain is the only means of avoiding this pain. Doing the uncomfortable thing, day after day, is the path to strength. Use it or lose it, as they say.
I’m not just talking about physical exercise, here.
Oftentimes, I see a cultural envy of happy and successful people. I see an overwhelming assumption that people living blessed lives have somehow found their “beauty” by chance. That’s not how it works.
Achieving greatness in ANY arena means rejecting “good enough.” Embracing an adventure means leaving safety behind. Claiming strength means giving up comfort. Reaching the summit of a mountain takes climbing, getting hurt, growing blisters. It means pushing past the comfortable, and forcing yourself to be more than you were yesterday.
To get what you really, truly want, you have to give up what you have right now.
To live somewhere better, you have to leave your old home behind. And you have to trust in God, and/or the Universe that, when you get where you’re going, it will be worth it. You can’t sky-dive with one foot still on the plane.
Who are you, really? Can you let him or her thrive? Can you force yourself out of your self-imposed prison? No one else has the power to keep you inside. If you are trapped by expectations and circumstances, you are the only person with the ability to change them. No one else can do this for you. And yes, you might have a fight on your hands.
Because when you grow, when you change, you begin to challenge others. It’s supposed to be that way. Now, I don’t mean that you should beat people over the head with your new revelations, projects, and beliefs. I mean that, when you show up in a room full of people wearing dependable, serviceable blue, and you’re wearing red, or blinding white, it’s going to draw attention. Don’t be afraid of the attention. Usually, the audience just wants to understand. Every one of us wants more than we have, more than we were yesterday, because we’re wired that way.
I never cease to be amazed by how many “fighters” and potential “fighters” are out there. Again and again, I share my vision, my goals, what makes me tick, and I hear stories of other peoples’ dreams. People “get” me. Often, it’s the people I least expect. My dears, you, and your dreams encourage me. Thank you.
The saddest conversations, to me, are the ones about the “Good Old Days.” I have no such days, because I am always reaching for something better, becoming something more. I don’t look back with longing. There’s a reason we aren’t born with a spare set of eyes on the back of our heads. We were designed to move forward.
When you refuse to grow, when you refuse to share, you rob the world of something that was sent here as a blessing. You, truly free, truly manifesting all that you can be, are here to change the world. Staying in your comfort zone is theft. You are robbing the world of the wonder of you.
To quote on of my favorite songs, the profound “Willing to Fight,” by Ani DiFranco:
“…’cause I know the biggest crime
is just to throw up your hands
say
this has nothing to do with me
I just want to live as comfortably
as I can..”
Where are you called to go, today? Who are you longing to be? What blessings hide within you, waiting to benefit the world? Are you willing to fight for them? How hard are you willing to work? What will you risk, or even leave behind to get there, to become that?
I’m building an army. And yes, boot camp is part of the plan.
To quote Ani one more time:
“…you’ve got your whole life to do something
and that’s not very long
so why don’t you give me a call
when you’re willing to fight
for what you think is real
for what you think is right…”
Give me a call, write me a comment. For what are YOU willing to fight?
