Most of you reading this will already be aware of how uncomfortable it feels to reach for your dreams.

Furthermore, I’m betting because of this discomfort many of you have failed to achieve certain goals you’ve set for yourself.

Now, this isn’t to shame you or highlight your setbacks.

I’m here to fill you in on why this is normal and how struggling with discomfort has nothing to do with your intentions or ability to get where you want to be.

However, I also want to shed light as to how discomfort can be the ultimate hack to achieving our dreams.

We simply need to learn to use it the right way.

This is by far one of my all-time favorite topics to discuss.

Because, if you only let this one concept resonate with you, you’ll be lightyears ahead from where you are now in terms of reaching your goals.

I encourage you to soak in every bit of information in this article.

Because it’s pure gold my friends.

Why We Fear Discomfort

Life coach guru Brooke Castillo often states, “Discomfort is the currency to your dreams.”

This is overwhelmingly true.

In order to achieve any goal, you need to be willing to experience discomfort regularly.

However, whenever we experience it, so many of us throw in the towel.

But why?

It’s hard to grasp why this is happening when we want to reach our goals so badly.

Well, I’m here to fill you in on some good news…

…It’s not completely your fault!

Turns out, our brains are hardwired to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

Which means whenever we do anything that promotes growth or change our brain panics.

Our primitive brain has developed this innate fear to protect us from harm.

Back in caveman times, this was extremely useful to prevent us from being eaten, attacked, or abandoned.

Now, it just gets in the way of our dreams.

The key here is to understand that the fear-based reaction we get from growth doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.

It’s simply the way our brain works.

Which means we can intentionally work to move past our primitive brain.

So we can finally achieve the results we desire!

The Wrong Discomfort

There’s no question that discomfort is necessary to achieve anything worth having.

It’s truly the secret to leveling up your life in every way.

However, it needs to be made clear that there’s a wrong way to incorporate discomfort into your life.

You can be the most committed, hardest of workers and still never reach your end-goals.

Why?

Because you’re likely practicing discomfort the wrong way.

The wrong discomfort is mismanaged, messy, and inefficient.

This type of discomfort usually stems from a place of self-punishment or low self-worth.

For example, when I first started my business I convinced myself that if I deserved success I needed to work 13-hour days every single day.

In my mind, that’s what I thought was necessary to be successful.

After some time I realized that I was just punishing myself.

I found that when I overworked myself I rarely got the results I wanted.

When I scaled back, worked smarter, and ensured I was practicing discomfort efficiently, my results skyrocketed!

I was finally doing more with my time.

Which allowed me to rest and recover properly.

In order to practice self-discipline and commitment to a goal, being “hard on yourself” isn’t necessary.

This isn’t to say discomfort won’t be present.

But the discomfort you should aim for stems from self-love and compassion.

Let me explain…

The Right Discomfort

The self-care phenomenon has run rampant in our society.

And don’t get me wrong.

I love a good bubble bath, manicure, or anything that involves some much-needed TLC.

However, to be honest…our society has become SOFT.

We’ve been using self-care as an excuse to avoid feeling uncomfortable.

On top of that, we’ve given the idea of being uncomfortable a negative connotation.

We crave instant gratification and steer away from anything that requires us to work hard, grow, and evolve into the best version of ourselves.

In short, our society is not only terrified of discomfort, but we SHAME it as well.

Which means we need to redefine was self-care means to us.

At this point for most of you, self-care will mean indulging in relaxing practices.

I want you to also view the right discomfort as a form of self-care.

This means making commitments to complete tasks that grow you into the best version of yourself – even when it doesn’t feel good.

Examples of right discomfort include working out, eating healthy, getting ahead on an assignment, etc.

Anything that causes you to feel discomfort, but in a way that produces long-term results.

This discomfort SERVES you.

It’s the ultimate form of self-care.

To Wrap Things Up…

I hope this article gave you some insight as to how you can start accepting the right discomfort into your life.

I don’t say this lightly…

In order to achieve any goal, you need to embrace discomfort.

If you think you can trick yourself into NOT feeling discomfort on the journey towards your future self – you might be delusional. 

Just think of it like this…

Every time you feel discomfort you’re slowly breaking free of the old version of yourself.

And growing into the future version of yourself you never thought was possible.

I’d say that’s worth some healthy discomfort every now and then.