Why You Have To Embrace Pain In Order To Grow
We tend to run away from painful situations by nature. We are literally built that way; our brains are wired for survival.
But the truth is sometimes those situations are exactly the ones we should be running towards.
I was reminded of this recently when talking to one of my friends about their career. They had recently taken up a high profile role in their organisation that was causing them a lot of stress. They were being advised to go back to what they were doing before as it would make for an easier life.
Not long ago I would have agreed. Why put keep yourself in a situation that involves a high amount of stress? Especially when there is an easier path available.
Life is too short to be uncomfortable, right?
This view was honed to perfection when I worked for all of about 9 months for one of the world’s largest management consultancy firms and I hated every moment of it. I like to say that it was the 16 hour days trapped side by side in tiny meeting rooms dotted with people I couldn’t always relate to.
But the truth is I hated it because I was constantly uncomfortable. I was well outside of my usual zone of knowledge and I…