Endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:4)
When it comes to changing a habit that continues to keep us stuck it’s necessary to develop a tolerance to discomfort. Most likely the idea of this is making you uncomfortable. Me too. However, if we can’t find a way to normalize discomfort when it comes to making changes in our life we will fall back into old patterns time and again.
Think about it. Why do you abort the effort you are so determined to make when discomfort surfaces, be it physical, emotional, or mental? Because you are trying to change the way you feel.
Research shows us that most of us develop unhealthy habits or allow anxiety to run us rampant because we are trying to alleviate our feelings of discomfort by seeking pleasure or avoiding pain. Truth is we just don’t like the way it feels. And yet, discomfort is often the indicator that we are on the precipice of change.
Capitalizing on this moment by making peace with our discomfort positions us for the change we want to make. Our goal is to name it, normalize it, and make peace with it. Doing so will put us back in the drivers seat.
Naming it—not judging it or ourselves for feeling it—validates that we are headed in the right direction. Expecting it during the process of change normalizes it and fosters a higher tolerance. And finally, making peace with discomfort disarms our impulse to get rid of it by any means possible.
Here, at Beyond The Craving, we use the CRAVE coach, a digital tool to help us change a habit, manage anxiety, or overcome an addiction. By design, this tool uses five simple prompts to stop the downward spiral of negative patterns in less than a minute. Try using it this week to help kick-start a new and better habit.
Be bold. Be brave. Be free.
Discover & Discuss
- Are you more likely to seek pleasure or avoid pain in response to discomfort?
- Practice the three strategies of tolerance—name it, normalize it, make peace with it.
- Download the CRAVE coach tool at beyondthecraving.com and start using it today.