Life is confusing. Sometimes our discomfort is showing us we are on the right path. We are facing our fears and growing. Other times, our discomfort is telling us this is wrong and something needs to change.

Similar feelings yet completely different realizations and actions. If I have learned anything about growth, it is that it doesn’t feel like a walk in the park. 

The process of walking peacefully through the park begins much earlier with facing and feeling discomfort. Change is hard and showing up differently, even if it is more aligned and healthier feels at first like something is off or wrong.

We want to go back to comfort even though we weren’t happy there because we are used to it. We knew what it looked like and felt like, it was that familiar path where you know the route. But when we are tired of our own sh*t and decide we want to take another path instead, it feels off.

People grow frustrated, like hello world, I chose a different path. Why am I not feeling like a Zen master? Why do I feel out of sorts or extra judgmental? Why do I feel like this is also somehow wrong?

The answer is that change is uncomfortable. It is important to note this because you will forget. Change and growth are deeply linked and the moment your ego begins to notice it, it wants to go back to the comfort of the known path. It will cause a big storm and tell you how silly you are to try and change or do whatever it is you want to do/be.

Knowing the difference between the discomfort of staying stuck in the old comfortable ways and the discomfort that comes from growth is easy. If you take the time to slow down and notice what you are feeling you can easily tell the difference.

One feels like you are suffocating and one feels like some inner spark has been lit. One comes from your head and one comes from someplace deeper. One makes logical sense but doesn’t feel right and one doesn’t make any sense but does feel right.

You can ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I showing up and responding differently?
2. Is my fear or discomfort coming from the unfamiliar or the familiar?
3. Is this discomfort leading to the same old stuff or is something new possible?
4. Are you feeling bigger or smaller as a result?

With love and light,
Orly