Can You Learn from Your Discomfort?
Thoughts on Self-Care and Stretching Beyond Your Comfort Zone
It’s been said that discomfort is a wise teacher. Would you agree? I’ve just recorded a podcast on this topic. You can listen to the episode on my Anchor podcast channel here: https://anchor.fm/coach-colette/episodes/Can-You-Learn-from-Your-Discomfort-e2mond/a-a77ptt. The transcript continues below.
[00:00:02] Hi this is Coach Colette! I want to talk today about self-care, and about self-care within the concept of comfort or comfort zones. Recently, we had an employee wellness experience where we shared a quote that actually provoked some interesting discussion; and I wanted to bring this to your attention so that you might do some thinking or considering for yourself.
Coach Colette: [00:00:41] So I’ll read the quote and then share some provoking questions that might get your mental juices flowing if you will. So, this quote is by Carolyn Myss and Peter Ochiogrosso.
Coach Colette: [00:01:00] It goes: “How do you define taking care of yourself? Create a new self-care practice today. Observe your comfort level when it comes to being good to yourself. Discomfort is a wise teacher.”
Coach Colette: [00:01:28] So, when we talked about this quote in the session, it was really the last two sentences that got people thinking. So, the first one being “Observe your comfort level when it comes to being good to yourself.” Which begs the question: “How comfortable are you with being good to yourself?”
Coach Colette: [00:01:55] Do you think that self-care is indulgent or selfish?
Coach Colette: [00:02:01] Do you feel worthy of treating yourself well?
Coach Colette: [00:02:07] Whatever answers come to mind for you, try to sit with them without judgment. I believe that self-awareness is also self-care; and self-awareness is powerful. I can think of times where, you know, that little self-talk … what do I call it? When I go down the rabbit hole where I think:
Coach Colette: [00:02:37] “Do I really deserve to take this time for myself?” Or, “do I really deserve to spend a little bit extra to get the organic instead of the regular?” I share that just to let you know that we’re all on this journey and even being a coach does not make me exempt from this soul journey. In fact, I’ve been finding that the more that I’m teaching and sharing and talking about self-care, the more it allows me to look at what I’m actually doing for myself; to really check in with myself to see if I am actually walking the talk.
Coach Colette: [00:03:32] And, then, the second sentence in the quote that generated a lot of discussion and thought was: “Discomfort is a wise teacher.”
Coach Colette: [00:03:45] So I would ask you: “How do you react to discomfort; whether it’s physical discomfort or mental or emotional discomfort?” In the employee wellness session, the program started with a yoga class. So, I shared this quote to get their feedback on what it was like to take yoga.
Coach Colette: [00:04:16] For some of them, it was the first time they had ever taken yoga. For others, it had been a long time since they had gotten back into yoga practice. And, so, we talked about what it’s like when your body feels uncomfortable. And I know for me personally I’ve been aiming to get more flexible. I know that my muscles are very tight. I am a former newbie runner, if that makes any sense to you.
Coach Colette: [00:04:49] And, so, I know that my hip sockets and my hamstrings are often very tight. And I have been saying for the past month or so, aiming to do more stretching either before I get up out of bed or just before I go to sleep. And yeah. Let me tell you. Discomfort is a wise teacher. I get reminded every time that I stretch: “Wow! It’s been a little bit of time since you’ve done this!” And, yet, that I’m also aware of when I am able to stretch more or deeper.
Coach Colette: [00:05:34] And, the interesting question about all of this is: “Are you able to be present to your discomfort and not seek to change or alter it?” So, I think for me when I’m in that stretch mode and I think: “This is as far as I can stretch right now?” That’s a judgment thought coming up. And, so I try to readjust myself and come back into myself and just be present to: “Yes, this is as far as I can stretch right now.” And, then sometimes, like the next day, I’ll notice that I can go deeper and then I’m just present to that deeper stretch.
Coach Colette: [00:06:19] You might also consider: “Are you able to learn from your uncomfortable situations?” Right. What lessons do you gain from discomfort? As the quote says, discomfort can be a wise teacher; noticing how comfortable you are as well as noticing what can you learn about yourself or about the situation.
Coach Colette: [00:06:53] We’re coming to the end of the year, December. I don’t quite know where 2018 went. And, it is often a time of reflection. So I would encourage you to consider these statements and think about where you are right now and where you might like to be in 2019.
Coach Colette: [00:07:21] When it comes to your comfort zones as well as to your discomfort zones: are you interested in setting perhaps a different intention around being comfortable with being good to yourself or offering yourself more opportunities for self-care? And, also, might you like to set an intention around how you are present to your discomfort or those uncomfortable times, and what you might like to gain or learn from those times?
Coach Colette: [00:08:09] So, those are my thoughts on comfort levels, comfort zones, and discomfort as being a wise teacher. As always I welcome your thoughts, ideas, comments, reflections as you continue to listen to these episodes. If you are not already following me on social media, I am @Coach_Colette on Instagram, as well as on Twitter. And, I would love to hear from you and also perhaps see pictures of your self-care routines, particularly as we enter the holidays. Think about how you can still maintain time for yourself to create moments of “ME-time;” because we know that when we treat ourselves well, we are that much more able to treat others well with care, love, and concern.
Coach Colette: [00:09:17] So, this is Coach Colette. I’m excited to continue conversations with you on all of the platforms; and let me know what you think. How comfortable are you with self-care? And, how much can you learn from your uncomfortable situations?
