Transform in the PAIN CAVE

Growth and comfort cannot co-exist.

To grow, expand, and build skill, pain and discomfort is required.

Whether you are training for a marathon or writing a book, the endeavor does not matter - the requirements remain the same.

There will be pain, discomfort, hurt, and times of dislike towards whatever “thing” you are pursuing in order to grow and transform.

Be willing to enter the pain cave daily and seek obstacles to overcome.

We have a choice - to sit on our haunches and wait for difficult times to fall in our lap, or to seek and prepare to overcome the hard stuff on purpose.

Blazing new trails, building difficult skills, picking a more treacherous journey over the familiar route is not fun.

Accepting and taking on pain and discomfort allows room for you to thrive in any and all situations.

When you examine your life, we all have strong and weak areas.

It’s easy to continue doing the things that come naturally to you and you are good at.

It’s harder to dedicate time to develop weaknesses and work on skills where you struggle.

We are naturally more confident in our wheelhouse of ability, but staying in that wheelhouse will keep you going round and round but not FORWARD.

To break away from the pack, it will require some sweat and persistence.

There is a good kind of pain and hurt, and that’s the kind to actively seek out to grow yourself - this is the pain that is worth going through to accomplish your goals and dreams.

Every expert started as a beginner and had to go through excruciating pain and discomfort to master their craft.

Choosing to accept and overcome the difficulty puts you ahead of the common person who seeks comfort and easy.

As Robert H. Schuller has been quoted, “Tough times don’t last but tough people do.”

There will be friction and resistance from inside your own mind - “You’re not cut out for this, it’s too hard to keep going, and there is no way you can actually achieve X.”

These thoughts keep us small and stagnant. And If I’m being honest, these are thoughts I’ve been personally battling lately.

It happens to everyone, but getting through the struggle and pain is where you can truly meet yourself.

The pain cave is an opportunity to transform who you are - transform the beliefs you have about yourself, transform your capacity, transform your habits, and transform your ability to execute.

Accepting and getting through your pain cave gives the opportunity to meet someone entirely new on the other side - someone who stronger, tougher, more confident, and equipped to take on more.

If you choose to stay still and continue taking the easy road, the opportunity to truly learn about yourself will not exist.

It’s okay to recognize the pain, discomfort, heartache, and hurt but don’t give it a voice.

As soon as you let that discomfort dominate the conversation in your head, it’s over.

Recognize it (you can even NAME it) so you can call it out, “Pain, I see you, but you are not in control.”

To survive the pain cave it will require guts and heart.

It’s also okay to take a break, a moment of resolve, but get back after it and keep going until the job is done.

On the other side you get to prove that you can adapt, you can be stronger, and you are capable of more than you know.

These opportunities to change does not always come in the big moments - it’s often found in the small choices.

Do I sleep in or get dressed to take a morning walk?

Do I scroll my phone for a bit longer or take that time to dump my thoughts on a page in my journal?

Do I distract myself from my true feelings or find the courage to sit in silence and face what I’ve been avoiding?

Do I avoid the person I need to talk to or dial the number and get the hard conversation started?

Do I keep working on my strengths or dedicate time to improve my weaknesses?

The choices we face in the micro moments of everyday is what ignites change.

And each choice creates proof of who we truly want to become (and ARE becoming).

Choosing the hard way is the fastest way to grow and transform.

Be willing to take on the challenge and struggle for a while, because with each shaky step in the unknown is the chance to become someone who is stronger and more sure of yourself.

Choosing resistance, choosing the harder option builds muscle and grit.

The action to lean into the challenge and get through the pain cave create proof of how strong you really are.

What choice and action can you take today to lean into pain and discomfort?

How can you overcome the pain cave and meet a new and transformed person on the other side?

How far are you willing to go to build the life you have only dreamt about?

Make the choice today to choose yourself, choose your growth, and choose your hard.