Why is discomfort important?
From SolVida’s Newsletter - Oct. 3rd, 2024.
One of the big reasons I love adventuring in the outdoors is because it expands my capacity to be uncomfortable. When I’m hiking in the rain, sleeping on an uncomfortable pad, or feeling the fatigue in my body after a long day, I feel discomfort. Sometimes it’s not fun. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t out there anymore.
But I do it anyway because 1) I know that in the big picture I love adventuring and won’t regret it, and 2) discomfort is where I grow. Discomfort is where we all grow!
I’ve found that expanding my ability to be with discomfort in the outdoors expands my ability to grow, and these abilities translate to my daily life. I’m more able to have hard conversations, experience uncomfortable emotions, and prioritize what truly matters to me even if it’s not what I want to do in the moment.
How do you relate to discomfort?
This all relates to the concept of comfort, challenge, and panic zones.
The comfort zone is where things are familiar and we feel comfortable because we mostly know what to expect and feel confident in our ability to respond.
The challenge zone is where we feel at our growth-edge and probably feel uncomfortable because we are facing new situations or experiences and/or don’t know how we’ll respond. We’re not sure what will happen next and we’re expanding our confidence. This is where we learn, grow, and transform.
The panic zone is where our nervous system can no longer regulate because the experience is too overwhelming or perhaps reminds us of a traumatic past experience consciously or unconsciously. We find ourselves in the panic zone when our nervous system crosses the threshold from being able to handle the newness or discomfort (challenge zone) to instead experiencing a threat response. We don’t grow here because our system goes into survival mode.
While it’s important to notice when we’ve entered the panic zone and allow ourselves to get support or shift back into the comfort zone, confusing the challenge zone and the panic zone can limit our ability to develop, learn, heal, and transform.
We need to spend time in the challenge zone in order to grow! However, that doesn’t mean we need to suffer. We can find and create fun ways to challenge ourselves and be a little uncomfortable without crossing into the panic zone. It can take time and support to know where these zones begin and end for each of us. I believe it is important to explore these zones because then we can choose how and when to spend time in the challenge zone, which can lead to fulfilling growth in all aspects of our lives.
Of course, we also don’t want to spend all of our time in the challenge zone! It’s important to come back to the home base of our comfort zone to rest and relax, to integrate and digest our experiences.
Here’s me hiking in the hot desert sun right between my challenge and panic zones!
To start here are some questions you can ask yourself:
How much or little discomfort do you allow yourself to experience?
How often do you spend time in your challenge zone? comfort zone? panic zone?
What are fun ways you build your capacity for growth by experiencing mild discomfort?
For me the answers to these questions change constantly depending on the time of year, my physical and mental health, what’s going on in my life, and so much more. I’ve found it’s not about judging where I’m at but rather about bringing curiosity to how much I am ready to challenge myself (and grow!) in each moment and season.
Thank you for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts on challenge and growth in your life right now. Truly, hearing from you brightens my day!
