If you’re not willing to do things that make you uncomfortable, your life is not going to get better.  Emily started running cross country this year, and I was a little discouraged at how she was obviously not pushing herself during practice.  At the first meet, she finished close to last place, and on the drive home, she told me that she was not happy with her performance.

As I explained to her then, and during every practice run and meet since then, you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable.  If you only do the things that are easy, you never get to experience the sense of satisfaction that comes from pushing yourself to do something that you didn’t think you could accomplish, then accomplishing it.  You don’t need to win a trophy, or finish in the top 3, but you should know when you finish that you did your own personal best.

Mariah decided last year that she wanted to audition for the winter musical.  Standing up in front of a room full of strangers and reading some lines and singing would be nerve-racking for just about anyone.  But she did it, and she got a part in the chorus, and she had a fantastic experience.  Because she was willing to do something that was uncomfortable, she got to have a great new experience.

We all have things that we are naturally good at, and sometimes it’s easy to fall back on those things, rather than push ourselves.  You can get through life this way, but I feel that you miss so much enjoyment if that’s what you do.  When you challenge yourself, and you accept a level of discomfort as part of the process, you will end up with incredible new experiences and new accomplishments.

These are things that no one can ever take away from you.  Once you’ve completed a race, or acted in a play, you own that experience.  It is yours forever.  And that is something to feel good about.