There is a saying when it comes to training young horses: "get them comfortable with being uncomfortable."
With young horses, every interaction they have with humans is something completely new to them and this is why they are scared of everything at first!
If you have ever been around horses, you know it is typical for horses to spook and be frightened by moving objects or loud noises.
They are always jigging, jagging, rearing, never standing still in one place, trying to run away, and the list goes on and on.
Everything is new for young horses, even down to being handled by humans.
So, young horses are naturally at a place of discomfort because being trained by humans to do what humans want them to do instead of what mother nature programmed in them to do is completely foreign to them.
Mother nature tells horses to run away and find safety, not stick around and fight.
Training horses to get comfortable with being uncomfortable is how the horse will eventually develop trust and start understanding his job.
You train horses to get comfortable with being uncomfortable by consistent work and efforts in training regularly.
Desensitizing them to loud moving objects by showing them loud moving objects over and over again to show them that there is nothing to be scared of is something that takes consistent work.
Training them to be ridden when they have never even had the thought of having a human on their back takes time and effort.
Teaching a horse to just stand still takes consistent effort over and over again until they understand what they are being asked to do.
The point of this message is to show you that this same exact rule applies to humans as well.
As men, we need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable because finding comfort in things that are hard or completely foreign to us is how we build strength, confidence, and knowledge.
Whether we are in the midst of a big project at work, or having an argument with a loved one, we need to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
When you are having an argument with a loved one, it is being able to have the confidence to stand up and have the uncomfortable conversations that are not only going to make you stronger, but make you stronger together.
If you are in the middle of an important meeting with your boss at work, you need to have the confidence to have an uncomfortable conversation - maybe your performance is slipping and it isn't going unnoticed and a conversation needs to be had.
The point is, getting comfortable in uncomfortable places or situations is how you open up your ability to learn new things.
Maybe you're trying something you have never done before, like performing on a stage in a theater of people.
The thought is racing through your mind "what if i fuck this up?"
Yeah, so what if you fuck it up?
You will have another shot at it tomorrow and the days surpassing it.
You just need build confidence and hold yourself accountable so that you don't continue to fuck up and it becomes a regular problem.
This is why getting comfortable with being uncomfortable allows you to open your capacity to learn.
Maybe what you were doing before wasn't working for you so you try a new approach and keep trying until you find the approach that does work for you.
This, my friends, is learning.
The only way we learn is by continuing to challenge ourselves with doing things that are hard or completely foreign to us.
We adapt our behavior to meet the conditions of which we are presented, and we continue to build off of our ability to adapt to new things.
Horses are very simple minded creatures, and so are humans.
We like to think we are more complex than we really are because we have the ability to make conscious decisions but the reality is, we all have our own established behavior patterns, we all have our own needs and desires, and we all like to feel comfortable in whatever we are doing.
If humans are able to teach horses to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, then why can't we teach ourselves?
Life is full of mysteries and if you cannot adapt and overcome new challenges, then life is going to pass you by in the blink of an eye and you wont be able to experience any true fulfillment in it.
Don't be the person that just seeks comfort and takes the path of least resistance.
Challenge yourselves, adapt and overcome new challenges and hardships, and the reward in the end will be a life worth living.