Some years ago I was fortunate to be invited to make a presentation at a rather large conference. Though I had done presentations earlier, it was to very small audiences and was never to an audience of more than 500 and an aware, agile, adept one at that. And I was also conscious of ” Death By PowerPoint “.
Irrespective of preparation, research and rehearsing, I was a nervous wreck. The slot allotted to me was just after the lunch break(usually tagged the ‘Death Hour‘ at conferences as lunch and carbohydrates have their say to lull the audience into sombre stupor). Getting audience attention is a task at the best of times. Sweaty palms, and palpitation were my best allies. I wasn’t sure if I was making my discomfort conspicuous but I had so many things in mind, I wouldn’t have even known.
I got onto the stage and the heaviness in my chest began to offload little by little. An encouraging audience offered me nods and smiles. I began to move away from my Republic of Discomfort to finding my feet. At the end of it, it didn’t go as bad as I envisaged. And the learning from not being in your comfort zone was priceless.
We spend a lot of years trying to outrun or outsmart vulnerability by making things certain and definite, black and white, good and bad. Our whole life is set up in the path of least resistance. We don’t want to suffer. We don’t want to feel discomfort. Time to counter that.
When you feel discomfort don’t default to the thinking that something is wrong with you. On the contrary, it is the other way. Something is right with you. Your body is sending out a signal of readiness, agility, preparation and wanting to take that leap of faith. It is sending you a signal to break away the shackles and embrace the unknown or the fear as it may. So that you can emerge in your new, superior form.
No need to restrain, run away or disassociate from discomfort. It is not an enemy but an ally, a guide, a navigator. It is that signal emerging from the wisest parts of your being urging you to explore, grow, move, transform. It is the GPS that travels with you to a future you would have never imagined.
Without the mistakes we make, the decisions we regret and the experiences that didn’t live up to our expectations, we would be very short on material for our creative work. These things are all just ingredients for your soup, material for making meaning and making art.
Ready?
ENDS