Living Outside Your Comfort Zone
No one wants to be uncomfortable, but sometimes a little discomfort can be a good thing.
I’m all about living your dream life. All the masters of personal development I surround myself with are living amazing lives. Although it can be easy to covet their way of life it’s important to know that most of them had to abandon comfort while building their dream life. By comfort I don’t mean that they moved off grid and lived primitively, or meditated in a cave for decades. What I mean is they pursued things that were bigger than they were at the time. They followed a dream that seemed almost impossible.
A lot of us were taught that to have a good life we needed to find a respectful job that would provide us with steady pay, health insurance, and a pension. While that sounds like a pretty easy way to attain stability and peace, it’s not quite how the world works anymore. Unemployment is soaring, employees are dispensable, and a lot of us are looking for more than a 40 hour work week that just covers our bills and housing. If you’re anything like me, you’re tired. Tired of working so other people can achieve their dreams and live an exciting life.
When my PTSD was at its worst I began to soul search and ask myself some difficult questions. Did I want to keep working for other people? Did I want to be on their schedule? Did I really want to spend most of my time working toward someone else’s goal, or did I want to create something of my own? What did I really want to do?
A few years ago I hit rock bottom. I just couldn’t work. My anxiety was out of control and I had a difficult time doing anything that didn’t truly serve me. Instead of wallowing in the miserable fog of anxiety that I was currently existing in, I decided to get to the root. Anxiety is a bitch but she’s also a messenger. I realized I wasn’t living life in the way I was meant to. I knew that punching a time clock everyday was not how I would thrive. I dug deep. What kind of life did I want? How did I want it to feel? What did I really want to do with my time that would also pad my bank account? How could I achieve the freedom, happiness, and security that I craved?
I had some wild answers to these questions. I wanted a life that was soothing to my nervous system. I wanted flexibility with my schedule. I wanted to do things that I enjoyed doing. I wanted my work to warm my soul and provide me with expandable opportunities. I realized that I could provide for myself better than any employer.
That’s when I enrolled in coaching and nutrition school. Helping others is how I feel my best, I know how powerful coaching can be, and I’m obsessed with nutrition and healthy lifestyles. I also wrote my book, Breathe Through the F^ck, so I could help even more people. I attended public speaking and storytelling workshops so I could begin a career in speaking. I also started my own beekeeping business that’s really starting to take off and began planning my homestead.
I wanted multiple streams of income. That way if something happened and I couldn’t fulfill one of my jobs, I’d still have money coming in from other areas. Public speaking is something I’ve wanted to do for decades, so I dove in. A training event for domestic abuse and substance use invited me to be the keynote speaker, which I excitedly accepted and immediately began writing my speech.
The event is in a few days and although I’m slightly terrified to talk about something so traumatic and personal in front of a bunch of strangers, I know it’ll help me with my own healing and it’ll open quite a few doors for future work. Starting my bee business was a little uncomfortable because of the financial aspect of it and the fact that I now have multiple apiaries and a whole lot of bees to take care of. This keeps me busy and will benefit me financially, even though it takes up time. Homestead planning is underway and although it’s thrilling, it’s also another responsibility. I can’t slack on either of these endeavors because if I do, I’ll either lose my bees or a bunch of produce. Which means I’ve lost lives, money and time.
Not only do I have my bees, homestead planning and education, my coaching business, and the book that I’m trying to sell- I also have a full time job running a brewpub. As someone who is strict about having free time, all of this is uncomfortable. Although it can feel overwhelming, I can already see how it’s benefitting me and will be my path to self employment.
It’s uncomfortable having so many responsibilities and it takes up quite a bit of my free time, so I’ve decided to flip my perspective. Instead of thinking about all the things I have to do, I’ve reframed it. I get to do these things. Everything I’m doing is something I want to do. Once I have everything running and established, I can transition from management and solely focus on my own businesses.
This will most likely take me a few years, but I can already see that I’ll be successful. So, although I’m uncomfortable, I’m embracing it. It won’t be forever and I will gain so much from this experience of running around like a mad lady. My full time job is financing my businesses, which means it’s financing my freedom. And that’s something that feels very good.
If you’re feeling stuck, take a look at your life and think about what you want it to feel like. No matter how big and scary your goals are, go for it! You’ll be surprised by how much you’re capable of. And if you need help, ask! There are billions of people in this world that have the knowledge you’re trying to attain and are happy to share it with you. So, get comfortable being uncomfortable! I promise, you’ll be better off if you’re living the life you want to live.
