Becoming Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Welcome to Day 18 of my 30 Day Writing Challenge. This one is super last minute – I have approximately 20 minutes left to write this before midnight. Sometimes the day just escapes from you and life skips ahead without your permission. I’ve gotten so far in this challenge though that I am not giving up now. So today will be more like a journal entry – my thoughts on becoming comfortable being uncomfortable.

As humans, we avoid being uncomfortable. It just goes against our basic instincts in every which way. If a pair of shoes is uncomfortable, it can ruin our entire day. If we are too hot or cold, it immediately has an effect on our emotions. We seek other peoples’ approval out of fear of being judged. Almost everyone has some sort of apprehension when it comes to public speaking because it is simply an uncomfortable task.

In my opinion, the fear of judgement is very closely linked to our fear of being uncomfortable. Stepping out of your comfort zone means putting yourself out there. It opens you up to mistakes and hence judgement – by others but also by yourself. In one of my recent posts, I spoke about how this year I want to make mistakes. Because you cannot live life and experience new things without making mistakes. 

I think accepting that we all make mistakes is the first step into becoming comfortable being uncomfortable. Accepting that we are just human and will never be perfect at new things. Or anything really. Accepting that that is okay. 

As I’m writing this, I’ve only just started my journey into being uncomfortable. It’s something I have been working on for years but the fear of judgement is something I have avoided so far and I believe it has held me back massively. Because I have solo travelled and moved to a new city by myself and that was 100% uncomfortable. It’s also where I believe 75% of my growth has happened.  But while I was uncomfortable in the way that it was new and scary and I had to meet new people, I never really put myself on the line for people to judge me. Because no one knew me in these places and everyone else was too far away for their opinion to matter. It’s interesting how you can find comfort in the uncomfortable.

So in September 2021, I decided I was done. Done with letting people’s opinion or more my fear of it determine what I do. I’d been thinking about trying content creation for YEARS – so I did it. I started my Instagram and opened myself up to the ultimate judgement – the online world. 

I then took it a step further and started this blog. Writing makes me super uncomfortable. English actually isn’t my mother tongue (though you wouldn’t know if you met me, it surprises people all the time), so writing was just something I wrote off as the thing I’m not that good at. The thing is, that made me stop trying and practising. It’s easy at times to say you are bad at something. It takes the pressure off trying. It’s comfortable. 

So this is my journey into being uncomfortable. As I said, I still have a long way to go. But I don’t want it to stop me – I want to be able to look the uncomfortable in the eye and be fully comfortable simply being uncomfortable. 

Have you journeyed into the uncomfortable? What’s your story?

Constructive criticism or any random thoughts are always welcome here! See you tomorrow 🙂