By Leo Babauta | Source

It starts by pulling away from something because it feels too hard, too overwhelming.

Maybe we don’t want to go to an event because we’re feeling tired and we don’t feel we can handle it. Maybe we don’t want to have a difficult conversation because it feels too uncomfortable. Maybe we put off doing a hard task because it holds a lot of uncertainty.

There’s nothing wrong with any of that! It’s OK to not always push ourselves, to take rest and to give ourselves self-care.

But if we don’t intentionally push back into the discomfort at some point … then we continue to contract from life.

The next time we’re faced with discomfort, overwhelm, difficulty, uncertainty … we might choose to pull away, avoid. And then again.

And soon our life shrinks, so that things that seemed doable before now seem impossible.

This is the natural process of contraction. It shrinks our lives, smaller and smaller.

We don’t have to give in to this process of shrinking our lives.

We can intentionally put ourselves into discomfort and uncertainty, just a little at a time. Acclimatize ourselves. Every day — when we are able.

Sometimes we need to rest, and replenish. But then we should commit to doing something difficult or scary, even the smallest amount. Every day we can.

That’s how we fight back, and expand.

with love,

Leo Babauta

Zen Habits