Are you comfortable?
This has been the question going through my head lately. When working out, are you comfortable? While serving your family and team, are you comfortable? When studying the bible and your life, are you comfortable?
I started running for one reason – I did a challenge last fall that had me working out two times a day, and one had to be outside. Running it was. What keeps me running is to prove to myself I can push through my mental blocks of, “this is not fun,” “you can’t keep going,” and “we could be doing something else.”
Pushing through the discomfort hardens me, it gets me used to uncomfortable situations. I prove to myself that I can go on, I will not die. Every time my mind says, stop, but I say, “screw you, let’s go.” I am adding one more notch of proof that I can overcome hard times.
Asking the question, “are you comfortable?” can bring insight into why you are not seeing progress.
If you want to get stronger, but never push yourself to feel uncomfortable, then you can’t say you tried. If you want to lose weight but still eat the same foods and are unwilling to make changes consistently seven days a week and not take weekends off, you are not trying. If you are not willing to push through the discomfort, you will never see the reward. There are no participation trophies in the real world.
Harsh? Yes. Truth? Yes.
If you are struggling to find success and progress, ask the question, “Am I comfortable?”. All growth comes with struggle.
Losing weight: Tracking everything you eat for a week (everything). Portion out your meals for a week. Or start smaller – drink one more glass of water then you are right now for a week, and each week, add another glass.
Workouts: Can you say your effort was a 9 out of 10 for a few workouts a week? If no, do a workout till you feel like you did a 9 out of 10 workout.
Being comfortable is not wrong, but if you are wanting to progress in an area of your life and also be comfortable at the same time, then you are not being realistic.
I have never seen the beauty at the top of a mountain without the struggle of climbing it. You don’t get to the top because you gave it your best shot; you get to the top because you pushed through and climbed the mountain all the way to the end.
Your Fitness Sherpa,
