Warning! Looks beautiful but may be uncomfortable.
At the bottom of the Grand Canyon I was camping out with about 30 other people on a river rafting trip with Arizona River Runners. My best buddy Brian is the senior boatman for ARR, and I was working the trip as a swamper, which is basically an unpaid helper to Brian and the other river guides on the 2 boats of our 9 day trip.
On one evening of the trip, Brian and I were cleaning up after dinner while people were pitching their tents. Suddenly one of the passengers came running up to tell us that someone had spotted a rattlesnake close to the passengers’ tents. Brian grabbed his “snake tool” and we headed off to capture the snake to relocate him to another part of the beach for no other reason than to calm down some very frightened passengers who had never seen a rattlesnake, much less had to share a beach with one.
The snake decided that the best place to be was hidden deep in the brush, and try as we might, we couldn’t get close enough to snag it, not that we really wanted to. We assured the very concerned passengers that snakes would rather avoid people and that this snake was surely going to get as far away from this mass of humanity as possible.
After the trip ended, Brian told me that one woman confided to him that she got so freaked out about the snake that she had decided to stop drinking water so that she would become dehydrated and have to get helicoptered out of the canyon. Temperatures at the bottom of the canyon can get as high as 120 degrees in the summer, so if you don’t drink water, you can bet that you will get dehydrated and incur the $1500 cost of being flown out to the nearest hospital on the rim.
She had a choice: possibly risk her life by allowing dehydration and pay for evacuation from a trip for which she had already spent a good chunk of money, or face her discomfort to experience a once in a lifetime adventure.
She chose to stick it out. She came to realize that to experience the beauty and majesty of the Grand Canyon from a boat on the river, she would have to endure some discomfort. Like any wilderness expedition, a river trip down the Canyon involves blazing heat, sleeping on the ground, no shower or public facilities, and an array of wildlife including poisonous snakes. She said it was one of the most incredible experiences of her life and that and she wanted to do it again. She decided that she could be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
How many opportunities for growth have you passed up because there was going to be some discomfort involved? How many exciting adventures have you missed out on? How much of the really good stuff of life have you left behind because you didn’t want to experience some discomfort?
T. Harv Eker says in his book “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”: ”The only time you are actually growing is when you are uncomfortable.” Where you are now in your life, financially, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally, is within your comfort zone. To grow, to learn and to change, you need to step out of that comfort zone and get uncomfortable.
It’s not easy to do or try something you’ve never done before, like camping or learning a new language. It won’t feel right, you won’t be doing it perfect, you will feel out of place, it’s not what you thought. However, with a little consistency and by doing it regularly, something interesting happens: It starts to get easier. If you persist, something amazing happens. It becomes very comfortable to do it and possibly uncomfortable not to.
This is how habits are formed, by allowing your (subconscious) mind to get comfortable with something new by walking through the initial discomfort. Think about the things you want to do or try but haven’t, like starting an exercise program, taking a class, going on a trip, introducing yourself to someone or joining a club or organization. Is it the discomfort of the unknown that’s stopping you? If so, here are some things to think about to move you in the direction of embracing discomfort for progress, change, growth or learning.
- Life is not always comfortable. Duh! Even if you try to make it so, discomfort will come along for no other reason than you are alive. Even if you could stay in your jammies in bed watching tv all day, you’d still get hungry, bored, etc. What kind of life is that anyway?
- There are presently areas of your life where you already accept discomfort because there is a great payoff in doing so. Example: getting up to go to work, going to the dentist.
- Discomfort by itself won’t kill you. It might make you grumpy, angry, scared, or nervous, but rarely does anyone die from discomfort.
- You need discomfort. That’s how life gets your attention. It makes you take action even if you don’t want to. e.g.” I don’t have time to eat but I’m so hungry I can’t think straight.”
- Discomfort makes like worth living. Uncertainty is uncomfortable. But if all you ever had was certainty in your life, you might do something to screw it up and create uncertainty to make life interesting. (People do it all the time, e.g. creating drama.)
- You can feel uncomfortable and not let it stop you. When you are uncomfortable in a new situation, simply acknowledge that to yourself. “I’m uncomfortable but I don’t need to let it stop me.”
The reason hypnotherapy is effective in creating change is that it help your mind become comfortable with the new and unfamiliar. But you can do it on your own as well. Just see every time you feel uncomfortable as an opportunity for learning. Love discomfort! Embrace it! Welcome it! If you are uncomfortable, it simply means you are alive and growing.
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TMan
Ted A. Moreno Certified Hypnotherapist Helping You Make Changes One Thought at a Time. www.TedMoreno.com
Posted by Ted Moreno 
