Discomfort

When we moved into our new house in November, it was incredibly exciting -- the moment we had been waiting for -- for well, nearly a year. All those forms we had filled out, fees paid to solicitors, estate agents and the sleepless nights worrying over the new mortgage: were we making the right decision? 

And the move was exciting. The movers broke a radiator on the way out of our old house. We broke the key in the lock of the garden door on the first night in the new place and had to call an emergency locksmith. I accidentally switched off the boiler by flicking a random switch in the kitchen and drilled holes in the wall that were too big for the coat hooks, which meant we sheepishly had to call in a handyman to fix said blunder. 


But it was all still thrilling. At least for the first day or two. And then the discomfort kicked in. 

We both took a week's holiday to "settle in". This was very sensible as in the end as we got loads of things done very quickly that would have taken weeks to accomplish if we had scampered straight back to work. But still, I found myself wishing we had gone back to work since that would have felt more normal. To be completely honest, I felt incredibly uncomfortable and hated the idea that we were living somewhere new and it didn't feel like home. I almost would have given anything that week to undo the whole change and go back to our old flat. 

I have to credit Leo Babauta's blog Zen Habits as helping me come to terms with the idea of discomfort. He explains in such an understandable way why our fear of discomfort gets in the way of doing things we would like to do -- like changing our habits or stretching to try new things.

Because here's the secret: discomfort is O.K. If you can watch it, observe it and see that it isn't killing you, or even maiming you. In fact, it's necessary. Because you can take two roads in life: the one of total comfort, which keeps you stuck, in the same place, and the one of discomfort, which is needed for change and growth. Anything new feels weird and uncomfortable, but if you just stay with those feelings for long enough and don't run and hide, then eventually they pass. 

Which is what happened over the course of that first week in our house (of course, duh). And now I love it. It was definitely the right decision and I am thrilled again. Although I do have a thing or two to learn about drilling. Or knowing when to call in the professionals. 

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