Why Should I Challenge Myself? 4 Reasons to Embrace the Uncomfortable

Given how challenging, busy, and stressful our lives can be, we often pursue a life of comfort. Being comfortable means we feel settled, things are easy and predictable, and life is relatively risk-free. Who doesn’t want that? But the truth is we aren’t meant to be comfortable all the time.

Staying in our comfort zones can actually hold us back in important ways. By pushing ourselves into areas that are difficult for us, we can find tremendous benefits and blessings that have a profound impact on our lives.

Here are 4 reasons to challenge yourself and embrace the uncomfortable:

1. It enrichens your joy of life.

When we stay in our comfort zones all the time, we stop truly living life. We stop using our abilities and talents in challenging ways, and they become dormant. We lose those skills and, more importantly, the fulfillment that they can bring. Jobs, friendships, and relationships may start to feel unfulfilling and stagnant. Living within the comfort zone eats away at everything that makes us unique, special, powerful, and important.

Pushing ourselves into areas that are difficult for us not only allows us to live a fuller, more fulfilling life, it grows everything about us that makes us unique, special, and capable of making a true difference in this world. The more you push yourself, the richer your life will be.

2. It promotes your spiritual growth.

Our comfort zone lulls us into the false belief that we can keep everything the same forever. The truth is we are always changing, even if we don’t realize it. We are constantly moving forward or backward all the time. There is no such thing as staying still. Spirituality is about being in a state of movement. In fact, a key indicator of how spiritual we are is how much we are moving forward. It is said that someone who has been negative for 20 years but decides to change is more spiritual than someone who has been spiritual for 20 years but decided to stop moving.

If we stay within our comfort zones all the time, we stop growing spiritually. Being spiritual is not just about how much we have accomplished or the positive things we’ve done –– those are all indications of our past. The question is: how much are we progressing today? How involved are we in actions that force us to stretch our limits? Stepping outside your comfort zone gives you the ability to grow and transform in the most beautiful and powerful ways.

3. It’s a powerful way to create miracles.

The wisdom of Kabbalah teaches that the way we behave in the world dictates how the Creator behaves towards us. Going against our nature by stepping outside our comfort zones is not only the way to manifest potential and fulfillment but also the way to create miracles in our lives, big and small.

Any spiritual benefit you receive from an action you do is exactly equal to the difficulty it was for you. If sharing with someone is easy, it’s a nice action but isn’t really bringing growth. Push yourself out of your comfort zone to give more when it’s uncomfortable. If you want nature to change, first change your nature. The deeper you do, the greater the miracles you can create.

4. It allows you to access your limitless potential.

No matter how great our accomplishments are, the potential of what we can do far outpaces anything we’ve done so far. Our potential lies beyond our comfort zones. True joy comes from pushing ourselves to explore our potential by challenging ourselves.

Each one of us is meant to create a new path, not to walk in anyone else’s. We can get wisdom and support from others, but we are ultimately meant to walk a unique path with our unique abilities and potential. Creating a new path never walked by anyone before means taking steps that no one has ever taken each day. It also means there will be obstacles and challenges to get through. Working through these difficulties is necessary for us to manifest our potential.

To be a better person, you must access what is beyond what you are now. Know that a greater version of yourself is waiting just outside your comfort zone.

Consistently pushing ourselves into areas that are challenging and uncomfortable for us is the formula for a life well lived. It is the path to an enriched life, filled with spiritual growth that allows us to create miracles and access our potential. Our lives can be even better and more fulfilling than what they are right now, but the only way to guarantee it is by pushing against our comfort zones consistently. What are you doing today to challenge yourself and step outside of your comfort zone?