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Our souls are inherently wired for growth – but that doesn’t mean it always comes easily. Growth often requires us to leave our comfort zone, face tough challenges, or confront memories, beliefs, or parts of ourselves that don’t make us feel very good.
The natural discomfort associated with growth causes many of us to shy away from powerful growth opportunities or pull back when things start to feel unfamiliar or unpleasant. When we’re unable to sit with and move through discomfort, this prevents us from reaching higher levels of our potential and can leave us feeling stuck and stagnant.
This episode of Soul Guide Radio deeply explores how avoiding discomfort thwarts your growth, and reveals how to find (and lean into) the comfort within the discomfort so you can learn, grow, and thrive in your life and business!
Start unlocking your spiritual gifts. Listen now to discover:
- How to tell the difference between discomfort and pain (and the roles they play in growth)
- How to find your creative edge in your business – and uncover your most aligned paths to growth
- An invitation that will have you tapping into the ease and flow of your growth cycles, so you can spark more growth and begin stepping into the full expression of your potential!
References:
Allyson’s Resources:
- GET ACCESS to 10 High Vibe Minutes – The ultimate morning mindfulness practice for busy soul-guided entrepreneurs
- Learn More and Enroll in Soul Blueprint – A certification course to amplify your Spiritual Gifts
- Contact Allyson Directly: DM on Facebook, DM on Instagram, Send an Email
- Join our community at the Soul Guide Circle of soul-guided leaders and entrepreneurs
- Leave a review for Soul Guide Radio (and we’ll read it on the air!)
This Week’s Invitation:
Call up from your heart, a heart led intention. Double check with your heart and ask: Are you really calling me towards this thing? And then make your list of pains and discomfort.
[00:00:00] Hey, ho dear ones, this episode is brought to you today by my love of yin yoga. Yin yoga is something I’ve practiced on and off for years, but I’ve recently rediscovered it and yin yoga is a slow paced style of yoga that incorporates traditional Chinese medicine with the energy meridians. with the yoga asana poses that are held for longer periods of time.
[00:00:33] And this gets your energy stimulated and releasing and circulating and just magically delicious and juicy ways. And when I say hold poses, I mean, sometimes you’re holding the poses up to five minutes. And it gets really, I don’t want to use the word uncomfortable, and I’m going to tell you why in a sec, but you start to experience a lot of discomfort.
[00:01:04] And what you want to find in yin yoga is you want to start to lean in and be in a state In the comfort that is found inside the discomfort and that my friends is what we’re going to be talking about today in this very powerful episode, because here’s the thing about growth. Our souls are wired for growth and if we’re not growing, that’s going to eventually feel stagnant and that’s going to feel bad.
[00:01:37] But growing requires discomfort. There’s a natural discomfort associated with growth. So finding. The comfort inside the discomfort is going to enable you to grow to levels you never dreamed possible. So why don’t we go ahead and get right to it? In today’s episode, I reveal the difference between Discomfort and pain, how avoiding discomfort thwarts your growth and how to find the comfort within the discomfort.
[00:02:12] We’ll end on an invitation that will have you tapping into the ease and flow of your growth cycles. So you can spark more and more growth and really start to step in to the full expression of your potential. So please, please stay with me until the end. Welcome to soul guide radio, a podcast for soul guided leaders, influencers, and entrepreneurs here to bring about change on a massive level.
[00:02:42] We’ll explore how you can activate your big soul mission, amplify your spiritual gifts, and clear the energy blocks weighing you down so you can gain unstoppable momentum in life and business. I’m Alison Scammell, your host and soul guide.
[00:03:04] Hello, soul guide circle. That is the name of this global and growing community of soul guided leaders and entrepreneurs. In the soul guide circle, we are using our spiritual gifts to grow prosperous heart led businesses that are on the leading edge of consciousness. Find a link to join our closed Facebook group at allysonscammell.com
[00:03:24] or in the show notes. Today we’re talking about finding the comfort inside your discomfort. And I want to start by telling you why I’m not using the word uncomfortable. I decided to go ahead and go to the dictionary and look up the dictionary definition of discomfort. And there are two definitions that I found.
[00:03:52] Is mental or bodily distress. That’s not what we’re talking about. That is going to go ahead and put us into pain. Pain goes into a different category, which we’re also going to be unpacking today. So what I’m talking about is dictionary definition number two, which I actually really like by the way.
[00:04:12] Discomfort is something that disturbs one’s comfort. And this is what I mean when I’m talking about the discomfort associated with growth. We’re talking about within our growth cycle, those things that disturb our comfort. And then to look at the dictionary definition of the word uncomfortable, the definitions there are experiencing physical discomfort.
[00:04:43] Okay. I put that in the pain category. Number two, ill at ease or uneasy. And number three, causing anxiety or disquieting. Whenever we’re feeling mental or bodily distress or anxiety. I put that in the pain category. And what that means is you are out of alignment. You have a blocked energy. There’s some conditioning that’s ready to be deconditioned, right?
[00:05:09] So that’s put in the basket of healing and that’s important and that’s part of our process. And we need to heal to grow. Healing is one of the biggest aspects of the growth cycle, right? We get called to grow to the next level of our potential. There will always be healing required. And it’s one of the most important things that I teach in Soul Blueprint, how to activate your spiritual gift of healing.
[00:05:40] So you can really start to tell the difference between when pain is showing up. and healing is required, or you’re just in some discomfort, which is a natural part of growth. And this discomfort is exactly like you’re at the gym and you’re building muscles and you put more weight on and it’s, there’s dis comfort.
[00:06:05] In lifting the heavy barbell, right? But you’re breaking the muscle down to build more muscle. And certainly you can very easily go into pain when you sustain an injury, and that’s when you should stop, reflect, what’s happening? I’m in pain, now I need to go into healing. But if it’s just discomfort, it’s hard.
[00:06:28] It’s not easy. It’s not easy to be in this discomfort I’m talking about. But then when you get to the other side, you get rewarded with stronger muscles. In the yin yoga example, when you’re holding these poses for five minutes, it can, you can feel a lot of discomfort. You can have this feeling like your body’s burning, but it’s not painful.
[00:06:52] Once you get into the pain, Then, of course, you want to stop. But if it’s discomfort, if it’s disturbing your comfort, that means that it’s part of your growth. You’re holding, holding, holding. Then the five minutes is over and then release. And then after the pose in yin yoga, you always then rest. And often there’s a counter pose rest.
[00:07:21] Oh, that feels so good. Oh my gosh, the counter poses are like the juiciest part of it. So you get that reward of feeling so good after the discomfort. If you’re holding the pose in pain, all you’re doing is potentially just hurting your body or even setting yourself up for more pain. So that’s why it’s so important to get to know the difference between pain and discomfort.
[00:07:57] Pain will feel like emotional pain, physical pain. It will feel like an injury. It will feel very low vibrational and either it will be physically and or emotionally painful. Discomfort is often not low vibrational. Discomfort has you in that energy of I am uncomfortable, but, oh no, I don’t want to use that word, uncomfortable.
[00:08:22] I am in discomfort, but I can do it. I can hold it. It’s not painful. It’s just you stretching, stretching, stretching, pushing out the edges of your comfort zone, and then when you get to the other side of that, it feels exhilarating or relaxing. or juicy. If you are pushing through pain and you get to the other side, it will just feel even more painful.
[00:08:59] So when you think about your business, What is calling you to really push the edges of your comfort zone? You know, to be honest, like what’s calling me? Like I have so many things I want to do in my business. I want to launch a proper YouTube channel. I want to get serious on Instagram. I listen, folks, I am, I’m pathetic on Instagram right now in the sense that I’m not showing up.
[00:09:27] I’m just passively showing up on Instagram. And I get so many clients from Instagram. And it’s just like, that is just like a breadcrumb that’s saying, Hey, Allison, you’re getting amazing clients from Instagram. Can you show up a little bit more there? I want to write the Soulbook. Blueprint book. I mean, these are all things that I just really, really want to do all at once, but I’m really cautious of burnout and I want to preserve my harmonious projector energy.
[00:09:56] So I think I’m really being called to how I can work even smarter, not more, but smarter. And like, I don’t have it all figured out yet. I don’t have like the map on how I can work smarter and, you know, as part of the growth process. It does require you to make some missteps. You know, your higher self will actually call you to the growth, which calls you to discomfort.
[00:10:24] And then you’re in there experimenting around what is going to work for you. And you might drop into some pain as I’m trying to work smarter so I can produce more content. On more platforms, I might dip into burnout as I try to figure things out, but that burnout is the gif because it’s like, Oh, well that didn’t work.
[00:10:48] I tried it. It didn’t work. So it’s going to point you to the things that do work. So pain and discomfort kind of work hand in hand and really we don’t want to avoid either. Uh, if we’re avoiding our pain, we’re avoiding our healing, and if we’re avoiding our discomfort, we’re avoiding our own growth, thwarting our own growth.
[00:11:12] So often pushing those edges of your comfort zone is an experimental process. And it’s about you continually showing up and pushing, pushing, pushing. And sometimes in the experience you do push too hard and then taking that lesson so that you can show up smarter the next time. And you know, we’re human beings and getting into the energy of discomfort is scary.
[00:11:40] And we have fear barriers up, you know, our brain, the fight, flight, freeze part of our brain is always telling us to avoid discomfort. And sometimes our brain confuses pain with discomfort. And so this is about just training yourself to start to recognize the very important difference between the two, both pointing you to something important that’s trying to get your attention, but they are not.
[00:12:09] The same thing. And the most important thing is the awareness that discomfort is a necessary part of growth and our souls are wired for growth. Therefore, discomfort is part of our experience. So we embrace that. We accept that we’re ready for that because we’re ready to grow. We’re wired for growth and all that entails.
[00:12:35] So the secret to all of this is finding that comfort in the discomfort. And doing things like yin yoga, doing things like building muscles, like doing things with your physical body will also help you learn then how to do this for your business. If you’re a runner, You know, can you see about running a faster time, running an extra half mile or 500 meters?
[00:13:11] Can you think about your physical body and the things that you like to do to move it? Is your higher self calling you to some discomfort there so you can take your practice to the next level? And this is not a forced willpower thing where your ego is saying you need to run an eight minute mile instead of a nine minute mile.
[00:13:34] This is being led by your heart. What is your heart calling you to? And is your heart calling you to up the ante, to push the edges out? So start with your physical body. I feel like it’s an easier place to start than with, you know, how to get, find the discomfort and say your business and your creative process.
[00:13:57] So my heart was really calling me to yoga. It was just calling me to stretch. And I could tell that I wasn’t getting enough movement and my physical body and my energy body was feeling too stagnant. So it called me to yin yoga. And when I’m in yin yoga and I’m in a pose that feels a lot of discomfort, my brain will really pop in and start saying, go to child’s pose.
[00:14:27] This is burning. This is raw. Your, your body’s shaking. Go to child’s pose, which is the rest pose. But when I drop into my heart, I ask my heart, should I go into child’s pose or should I keep on holding? And nine times out of 10, I get a heart nudge to keep holding. And then I go into the body and I go into my being.
[00:14:59] And that’s when I find this comfort in the discomfort, like, Oh, it’s like you can feel your way into it. But you’re always, when I find it, I’m always embodied. I’m always from the neck down. I am not up in my head. When I get up in my head, that’s when I actually go into stress, anxiety, and I quickly go from discomfort into pain.
[00:15:31] But when I’m from the neck down. Connected to my heart space in my body, listening to the nudges of my heart, trying to quiet that thinking body. I always can lean into this comfort, no matter how bad my muscles are burning. It’s the comfort inside of the discomfort. So think about your business. What is something that you are really being called to create, or be, or do, or put out into the world, but fear is holding you back?
[00:16:05] Can you check with higher self? Double check. Are you calling me to create this thing? So if you get a yes, I want you to get out a piece of paper and on it, I want you to write two columns. The first column is pain. The second column is discomfort. And in the pain column, I want you to write all the things about creating and putting that thing out in the world that feels painful, that feels very low vibrational.
[00:16:33] Like it just feels like pain. Do that first and then go into the discomfort. I feel called to do this thing and I know it’s going to be discomfort, but it’s not going to be so low vibrational. And in fact, there’s going to even be some high vibrations in there because it’ll be kind of exhilarating and experimental and curious and playful and expanding.
[00:17:03] So this will help you start to really get to know the difference between the two. The pain list is what’s ready to be healed and using your spiritual gift of healing. And then the discomfort is really your spiritual gift of teaching. That’s your unique genius saying this is the expansion. This is the edge, the creative edge that your heart is calling you to and using your unique genius to co create with the divine to create something and service to your clients or to your community or to the world.
[00:17:46] And so thinking about in that discomfort list, what is my best next step to really start to step towards that creative edge? Because it’s our creative edge. That’s always the most exhilarating for our potential clients and customers. And it’s the most exhilarating for you. And there’s always a little bit of discomfort there because it’s unknown.
[00:18:11] It’s our edge. We haven’t spent a lot of time there, right? And can you start to practice going to that place of discomfort and leaning into and finding and relaxing into the ease and comfort that’s found and available to you inside of the discomfort. And my invitation for you this week is to do just that.
[00:18:40] Think of a heart led intention and don’t think of it actually call up from your heart a heart led intention. Double check. Heart, are you really calling me towards this thing? Something you want to create. And let’s think of an intention that’s a bit edgy that would put you in the energy of discomfort.
[00:19:00] It doesn’t feel easy like you’ve done it a thousand times before. We’re going to call up a creative edge intention. And then make your list of pains, the thing about the intention that feels painful or resisting, and then make your list of discomfort. I feel called to it and there’s this discomfort, but it also feels kind of exhilarating and edgy.
[00:19:27] And when you lean into that energy, what is your next best heart led step? Your higher self is calling you to. To really be in the creative process of this intention to bring it forth into the world. And as part of that, can you find the comfort inside of the discomfort? All right, my dear ones, that’s all I have for you this week.
[00:19:56] If you received something from this episode and I just feel in my heart that you have, can you hop over to the show notes, find the link to leave a writing and review, let me know what you received and I will read your words on the air. Likewise, you can DM me on Instagram or Facebook, or send me an email to Alison at AlisonSkamol.
[00:20:19] com and you will find. All of those links in the show notes. And as always, until next time, may your soul guide the way. Hi, dear ones. Listen here. The soul blueprint certification program is a roadmap to becoming a more powerful coach, healer, writer, artist, or entrepreneur, and then earning more money. It’s the only certification program that reveals how to activate your five unique spiritual gifts you.
[00:20:51] So you can create massive soul aligned success in life and business, learn more and enroll at allysonscammell.com/soulblueprint, or if enrollment is closed, you can join the soul list. So you’ll be the first to know when the next cohort is opening up. And you’ll also be eligible to receive special high value bonuses.
[00:21:11] Again, that’s allysonscammell.com/soulblueprint.
Timestamps:
00:01 Intro
03:28 Meanings of discomfort & uncomfortable
04:52 Pain & healing
05:46 Discomfort & growth
07:47 Pain v. discomfort
08:51 Pushing edges in your business
11:34 Addressing the fear of discomfort
12:38 Finding the comfort
15:53 Creating your lists
18:37 Invitation & conclusion