Are you someone who seeks comfort and safety over bring pushed out of your comfort zone? I think that most of us desire comfort in our lives. They say most people resist change because they’d rather stay where they are.

Growing pains in life aren’t just about discomfort. They are signs that you are stretching beyond where you currently are and are growing. This can be emotionally, spiritually, and professionally. When I look back on my life experiences, the times I feel most stagnant and lacking purpose are when I’m not growing. I love seeing something being created and being a part of the process. Easier said than done when that something, or someone is myself!

Here are some good things that come from leaning into the discomforts of life:

Gaining clarity and self-awareness.

When we experience hardship, we get to see in real time the edges of our comfort zone. Seeing where we lack, places we can grow and sometimes necessary places we need to work on and change immediately.

Building resilience.

When we do hard things, we strengthen ourselves and we also grow in faith knowing that God will provide and grow us through this season just as He did the last.

Developing character.

We learn about how impatient we can be. We get to work with difficult people who require extra grace on our part, or learning how to better communicate. Instead of being frustrated, we can be grateful that God is growing us in new ways! Maybe we need to learn more about empathy or humility. Having people in our lives as mirrors are a blessing!

Gaining new skills and knowledge.

Sometimes learning new things means making mistakes. For someone who values efficiency, I get frustrated when something isn’t as simple or straightforward as I’d like it to be. Learning new things expands our knowledge, allows us to be taught by others and helps us curb future “failures” and sees them as learning opportunities.

Learning boundaries.

Whether it be our own boundaries or boundaries in working with others, God will use experiences and people to teach us something and show us where we have room for improvement on communication, codependent tendancies we may have and our capacity. Knowing these things helps us for our future.

Growing in trust.

God will use challenging experiences and situations to teach us to have faith in Him and to show us that He always provides when we submit ourselves to His will and giving Him our all.

Discomfort is part of life, but the beauty of leaning into both the good and bad experiences we have is that we grow and develop from these experiences. Do you notice there are certain things throughout your day or week that push you in ways that you feel or see frustration or negative emotions come up? Take note of those things and track what areas God may be using these experiences to grow you in. They are blessings when we see His perspective.