Daily Gratitude: “There is no
growth without discomfort.”

One could say this means “growing pains” are normal. And in a way, they are. Growth and change are so closely related that we should expect growth to hurt because we all know that change hurts. Even when it shouldn’t. Ha ha.

And then there’s the issue of pain vs discomfort. If you’ve put on a few pounds and your clothes are tight, you have “grown” and you may have both pain and discomfort. The discomfort would be in having to suck it in when you’re trying to button your pants. And then there’s the emotional pain of feeling you’ve failed etc.

I was being facetious but the point is that discomfort can be looked at in a positive way. Look up the two arrow theory if you don’t remember my post on that. Taking the emotional component out of pain helps to diminish the intensity and one way to do that is to try to find the positive in the situation causing the pain.

I’ve told you about my post shingles nerve pain and how horrific it was. But I’ve also told you all the good that came out of it. Did I see the good at the time it was happening ? No. But I wasn’t as wise as I am now. Seriously. This is not to say you have to be Pollyanna- not at all. Just try to look at what you’re going through in a different light if you can. And If you can’t, that’s all right too.

I think every day is a growing time. That’s why it’s helpful to do evening reviews. If we have to suffer, wouldn’t it be nice to see something good come from it?