Writer Life - Say YES To Discomfort

My entire life has been a battle against feeling out of sorts and a failure to fully fit in. Quiet, shy, and lacking in self-confidence have always been part of my makeup, yet I have found a way to make hide those traits and make myself seem as though I am something more. It has all been rather exhausting.

Toward the end of my first marriage, I ended up in therapy, where I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. It was around that time that I realized that no amount of one-on-one conversations with a therapist, combined with medication, was ever going to shakes the decades of feeling uncomfortable. What did happen, though, was finding a way to be comfortable with my discomfort.

That has become something of a mantra for me and has pushed me to do things I would never have otherwise done. Creating an online dating profile, which ultimately led to me meeting the absolute love of my life, writing a novel and sending it out to a publisher, albeit with a nudge from the aforementioned wife, and creating a YouTube channel that is now monetized.

Great things can happen when you embrace discomfort and take a chance at failing, knowing that you will come out the other end, slightly bruised, but still very much alive and kicking.

Over the past couple of weeks, I have been taking piano lessons and feeling like I am totally out of my depth. I have a reminder on my phone to get upstairs and onto my electric piano to take another lesson. Sometimes an hour will pass and I will feel progress. Other days, such as today, I take 10 minutes and feel foolish about a perceived backward step. At the end of each lesson, I realize that I am making progress. Moving slowly doesn't feel so foolish when no-one is watching, so embrace your discomfort and set out to do the things you've always wanted.