Growth Is Pleasant and Painful

Growing is fun, freeing and fulfilling most of the time.

I enjoy growing because growing liberates me from fear, pain and suffering while improving the overall quality of my life. But growing also forces me to face, feel and release my fears. Walking this road feels highly uncomfortable sometimes because no one deeply enjoys feeling fear.

Most people have a tough time growing because the moment fear rears its ugly head, the masses turn around to sprint in the other direction. The public generally believes growth is only sunshine and roses. Feeling bad must not mean growth. Feeling bad must mean failure, regression and pretty much walking backwards through life.

But if you avoid feelings related to growth – good and bad – you simply do not grow. I love writing for Don's blog but today I feel a little off as far as tension traveling through my body. Every few months I feel a similar experience. My body becomes incredibly tense and tight as energy seems stuck in a few areas.

I rest, do yoga and simply face, embrace and release the deep tension as I continue to write this post and posts for my other blogging buddies. I have enough experience to know growing feels messy, painful and flat out unpleasant sometimes because breaking free means breaking various aspects of your life.

Breaking Free to Grow

Humans break free prior states of being to grow into different people, from an energetic perspective. You always appear to be the same – in most cases – but the emotions coursing through your being change based on your levels of awareness and non-resistance to what is.

Years ago, I would have panicked, flipped out and worried obsessively in bed if my current feelings coursed through my being. But I broke free of my old terrors, breaking free of the scared person I was to grow into the more calm, serene, poised observer I am today.

All of those growth years felt fun and freeing for much of the time but some moments felt frightening, painful, overwhelming and stressful. Hey; that's growth. Sometimes, growth feels terrible. Most times, growth feels good. Do not be so quick to turn around the split second bad feelings arise in your being because great growth meets you in your most uncomfortable moments.

Everything depends on your willingness to be with the fears waiting for you in growth zones. Everything changes as your relationship with fear – aka bad feelings – changes significantly. Once you become comfortable with being uncomfortable you will grow really fast. But developing this skill takes time, energy and a full on commitment to wading through unpleasant emotions instead of avoiding these energies.

Consider engaging in awareness-expanding practices like meditating and doing yoga. Expanding your awareness unearths fear to face, embrace, feel and release these energies versus being aversive or resistant to fear.

This is the starting point of genuine growth.