EMBRACE YOUR GROWING PAINS

When was the last time you tried something new for the very first time?   

When you went out of your normal habits, routine, or comfort zone?

When I was writing my book last year… I had NO idea how to do it. I’d never done it before!

But, I knew that I could do it. It was a powerful and challenging process of pushing through the uncertainty, the unknown and staying ‘in action’ rather than stalling in procrastination.

I bet, the last time you tried something new… you would have experienced a mix of different emotions, realisations, awareness and learnings and you may have even felt a little uncomfortable or even out of your depth at times.

As you grew through that discomfort and got to the other side, you would have changed.

The process of learning and doing something new for the first time can be so uncomfortable. 

For some reason, a lot of us think that if we aren’t happy all the time then we aren’t “normal” (whatever that is anyway…!). 

But, we grow through the discomfort.

And sometimes when we grow, we feel ‘growing pains’. And that is completely normal.

And at this busy time in our lives, when it can be tempting to close down and say no to the challenges and discomfort in life, I encourage you to stay open to more options, to being present with what you are experiencing and saying yes to more possibilities in your life…

To seek those opportunities that are calling you to grow.

Because, I have learned to trust that through the discomfort we always come out the other side.

Remember, after every winter or dark time in your life, there is always springtime just around the corner.

In my podcast this week I share some more insights on the third of my ‘5 Keys To Fulfilment’ as I explained in my book. Because I truly believe that the more open we can be and the more we try those new things that challenge us, then the more fulfilled we feel in our lives – with beautiful stretch marks to remind us of the growth we have had!

Now, of course it’s not only about having a variety of experiences in life that is important – I also believe it’s important to hold a variety of ‘perspectives’ to the situations that arise in our life. This is something I teach in my NLP course.

For example, pretend you are driving and someone dangerously swerves in front of your car and cuts you off in traffic.

You might be tempted to instinctively respond in your old, programmed, default manner of thinking ‘what a rude person!’ causing you to feel flustered and angry.

On the flip side, you may choose to take a new perspective on the situation such as thinking instead….

‘wow, they must be so stressed out to be driving so fast! I hope they are okay. I’m glad I saw them quickly enough to prevent any danger!’ sending compassion to the hurried driver, or ‘Thank you! For all I know you just saved me from a car accident 5 meters down the road by encouraging me to slow down!’ and now feeling gratitude for the person who could very well have saved your life.

Couldn’t those variety of compassionate and more resourceful perspectives also be entirely possible?

ACTION:  This week I want you to challenge yourself.  Try something new that stretches you out of your usual comfort zone. 

Bonus: Catch your ‘default’ response to situations and try to come up with a variety of compassionate and resourceful different viewpoints to shift your perspective and emotional response.

Have a beautiful weekend and as always, I am sending you so much love and support for where you are on your journey right now.

Juliet xx