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The best thing I've incorporated into my everyday routine:

Seeking discomfort.

Well... that, and:

• Reading

• Journaling

• Long walking

• Morning meditations

• Exercising & working out

But, I've spoken about most of these numerous times already.

Therefore, to change things up a bit — we'll be going over how Seeking Discomfort (as much as possible!) will be the best thing you, too, can incorporate into your daily routine.

With that, let's dive in!

And as always, thank you for opening my letter.

Thank you for being here.

You’re Trapped

At some point in our lives, we've all been trapped.

We've allowed our emotions, thoughts, & overall feelings about situations, people, & outcomes to control us.

In my view, that's handing over control of yourself and becoming confined.

Confinement goes hand in hand with being comfortable.

Whether you know it or not, you tend to stay within your comfort zone as much as possible.

But, remember — when there's comfort, there's no room for growth.

No room for improvement.

And that's the beauty of seeking discomfort, my friends.

You don't actively seek it because you want or desire the discomfort. Nobody does.

You seek it out because you know what awaits you on the other side.

You know exactly what will happen to you (& your way of being) once you step beyond the limits of your comfort zone.

Limits which you've placed, may I add.

Self-constructed & made-up imaginary limits.

It's like you're caging yourself with all these fears, uncertainties, & insecurities. And as such, you are handing over the full driving seat (of your life) to these emotions.

As Steve Chandler would put it — you're allowing your victimhood to win & get the better of you.

It's time to become an owner of your life.

How?

By seeking discomfort.

Go Beyond

Only when you allow yourself to test your boundaries & live within the edges of your comfort zone... you find true growth.

Yes, it’s painful.

Yes, it’s scary.

Yes, it’s uncomfortable.

But that is the point!!

It's the thing you want to search for. It's the thing that gets you to...

• Grow

• Evolve

• Develop

... in the landscape of life.

In fact, you'll grow in even quicker & more powerful ways the more you seek discomfort.

Or in other words — the more that you live within those edges.

I'm currently testing this myself.

I've recently started to incorporate Yoga into my weekly routine.

For now — I'm committing myself to go at least once a week (as an active recovery type of workout).

I'm sure that over time I'll increase the commitment.

But for now, this was a good place for me to start. Baby steps right?

So this past Wednesday — I scheduled in my 2nd ever Yoga class.

That Wednesday morning, I woke up before my alarm. Feeling a little nervous.

I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason behind it.

But, I quickly remembered — my feelings are a direct reflection of my thinking at that very moment — which was about the Yoga class I had to get to that morning.

Perhaps I was nervous about still being a beginner in a class with more experienced people?

Or the fact that I'd be the only man there?

I don't know. But needless to say, I was uncomfortable.

The more I held on to these thoughts, the more I was pushing myself towards not going.

So I quickly caught myself. I removed my presence from that room immediately — took my dog out & went for my morning walk.

Instantly, fresh thought came in.

One of these was about a conversation I recently had with one of my clients, where we talked about exactly this: embracing & seeking discomfort.

I was reminded at that exact moment that in about 2h (after the class) I would have grown.

In some way.

Because, if I didn't embrace the discomfort & allowed the uncomfortable thoughts to "own" me & win... this would've happened:

1. Not honouring my commitment to show up for yoga, which is already not a good start.

2. Sending the signal to my brain that I will continue to listen & hold on to my thoughts.

What do you think happens next?

Each time this happens (and it will; we all get uncomfortable many times in our lives), my brain is negatively reinforced by this experience and similar ones…

Then, the automatic response becomes: to hold onto thoughts.

This is how you get trapped in this unproductive & non-growth vicious cycle.

This is how you stay stagnant.

Instead...

I invite you to honour the discomfort. Look forward to it.

Allow your brain to associate discomfort with excitement.

Excitement for the fact that if you remain in those edges & boundaries... you will go beyond & come out of it as a new person.

You may not feel the change to be very "big" after each individual time.

But this is where we bring compounding into it.

Think of all the small little changes that will compound when added together.

Please think of all the uncomfortable moments you go through in one week.

Even in one day!!

When you live by those limits every single time they take place... the growth that comes out of it — when added together — is so beyond powerful!!!

That's the real secret here. Focus on the current moment.

Draw & bring your awareness to this very moment.

Whatever may be happening — find & search for the discomfort.

Identify it.

Then, whatever thoughts may come in about the uncomfortable nature of said situation, don't hold on.

Remove your presence from the room.

And take it as a blessed chance or opportunity given by Life for you to reframe.

Be excited. You're experiencing growth at that very moment.

You're stepping out of your cage.

You are finally allowing yourself to live within your own limits...

This new state will slowly also become your new "comfort zone".

Which over time will, too, continually evolve.

Just as you do.

It's a never-ending game, my friends. Have fun with it.

Make it count.

And don't forget to seek discomfort.

Thank you for reading.

Wishing you a beautiful weekend ahead.

Much love,

Julian

PS. Seeking discomfort goes hand in hand with surrendering to what life puts in front of you.

If you'd like to learn how to continually surrender and show up as someone who embraces discomfort, I invite you to explore my audio experience.

This is the starting point of your journey:

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