Think about it. When have you ever learned something and felt comfortable doing so? As a child, you were taught how to tie your shoes. It was hard, you struggled, and you failed at it over and over again. At this point in your life, this was all new so it was challenging. Once you learned how to do it, you became comfortable with it. As children, we get uncomfortable over and over again so that we can learn and grow.
But then, adulthood enters. After school is over, it is up to you to learn new things. You have to take the initiative to continually learn and grow as a person. But how many adults actually commit to learning more each day? How many adults can shut off their inner demons long enough to actually step outside their comfort zones?
Learning From What You Can’t Control
I look at life like it’s a video game. We all start at the same level. The only difference is that we grow up in different environments, meet different people, and have different experiences that shape who we are and what we believe.
Some people will choose to take everything as a learning opportunity and move onto the next level. Some people try to numb or avoid the pain, and usually will have the same lesson hit them in the face over and over again until they learn and overcome.
That’s how I look at life anyway.
Every single person will have terrible things happen. We all have struggles to overcome at every level of life. So, to get to the next level of your life you must learn from everything that happens and use it to move forward.
Stability and Comfort Aren’t the Goals if You Want to Create the Best Life for Yourself
The ups and downs of life aren’t the only time we should be learning. That’s just the first step. The second step comes when you choose to step out of your comfort zone and learn along the way.
The fact of the matter is, you’ll never be able to see the end results until you get there. You can’t know your second step without taking your first step. The smartest and most successful people learn as they go.
If you’re learning through someone else, then you’re not really learning. You’re simply reading or listening to how someone else learned.
Take golf for example. I can read about golf and talk to golf experts all day, but I won’t know how to play golf until I go out there and hit the ball already.
It’s Only Uncomfortable Because It’s New
Back to the shoe-tying example. When you learn to tie your shoes, it’s only uncomfortable because it’s new territory. It’s not uncomfortable because tying shoes is an uncomfortable thing to do. This applies to anything else you want to learn.
There’s nothing wrong with podcasts, books, audiobooks and learning through other people’s experiences. In fact, it can, of course, be used as a guide to help us with our own learning process. But ultimately, you won’t ever truly learn until you just go out and do it and gain experience along the way.
With everything we do, we all have our own formulas. We won’t know the full formula until we’ve finished.
What Do You Want?
Are you learning? Are you stepping out of your comfort zone often? Are you just trying to live a comfortable life or are you wanting more?
Decide what you truly want out of life, and then take the first step. Life is basically one big “choose your own adventure” book, so make it a good fucking read.
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