Mastering Discomfort: Your Journey to Self-Improvement

Anxiety and shame cause a stress response in our bodies. The extent and that's why also the consequences of this stress response depends on our perception.

• An extrovert might not perceive the earlier mentioned example-situations as stress
• While an introvert might even avoid social situations (fight or flight) in the first place

Do one thing everyday, that scares you. – Eleanor Roosevelt

*in longterm with habitual practice.

When we collect more experience with our age, some realise that changing our view, values, habits etc. wasn't and won't ever come easy, but gets harder with age tendentionally.

Children feel less discomfort of taking action, because in their early life stage they are less capable of thinking about the possible scary or emberassing consequences of their actions (less anxiety & shame). Their few life experiences make them less able to anticipate. Instead they focus more on the present than the future.

• Introverts think more likely about the consequences, the reactio, of their actions (future focus)
• Extroverts think more likely about the action itself (present focus) or are more stoic about their thoughts focusing possible future outcomes
• Those extroverts who notice a stress response, but react calmly, are more likely to have learned it intentionally with self-awareness.

Do you know Mel Robbins' "5 second rule"?

If not, the key is to distract your brain from your discomforting emotions, with her advice by counting from 5 to 1 and then act.

It works for some people, because logic (counting backwards) activates different brain regions than when perceiving your emotions, which can get in the way of taking action.

The quote does at least three things to help you being more in the present moment

1. Distracting you from discomfort
2. Creating a potential habit of dealing with discomfort
3. Additionaly creates self-awareness of what causes your discomfort

1. & 2. are the same benefits form the 5 sec rule. I can recommend the Deepstash articles about it ;)

Being aware of your own perception can help to identify your own emotions better. When you ask yourself in response of the quote – Why am I scared?

You rationalise your emotions and question them to be appropriate or not. Your learn more about yourself.

When you learn and understand yourself better, you are more considerate and compassionate with yourself.

It will be easier for you to find more reasons to act than not to act on your discomfort, because when you repeatly make the decision to overcome it, it might become a habit.

Your brain adapts. The stress response reduces and it becomes easier to focus on the present.

A best friend gives you good advice, because her/his emotional stress response don't cloud their mind staying rational.

Self-awareness in situations of discomfort might help you to become your own best friend.

means - change to become better.

If you decide to do one thing a day that scares you, better start small.

Small steps of change bring compound success in longterm without being overwhelmed quickly, because your brain gets the time to adapt to your new strategy to turn active cognitive chosen changes into passive automated habits.

Mastery doesn't come overnight. Mastery takes time.

A basic principle is – The more time you spend on something, the more competence you grow in that area.

Documenting the situations, where you overcame your discomfort with grattitude briefly and daily in a notebook increases the amount of practice to consolidate your initial change into a habit with thought structured writing.

The quote in this article changed the way I perceive and act on my zone of discomfort. Today, discomfort is my emotional indicator for where I still have or want to grow. But I try to avoid becoming an self-optimisation addict (other form of stress compensation).

Before habitually or blindly acting on every discomfort, you can ask yourself, does it make me happier overcoming it?

I'm happy to be an introvert, because it has benefits and that fits my values.

Self-awareness can also help you evaluating every change you plan to make based on your own definition of happiness.

What works for my zone control doesn't have to work for you. We all come in diversity. Remember this before you comment. I just share my personal experiences and don't guarantee anything. With that in mind

Thank you for your understanding and your attention!

Comfort - Inaction - Inexperience - Inability.

Discomfort - Action - Experience* - Ability.

*incl. failures