Vol 2 #2 “… greatest discomfort … largest opportunity…”

“…the place where your greatest discomfort lies is also the spot where you largest opportunity lies.” The Spellbinder in The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma

That is a line is my most recent self-education / self-uplift book purchase on my personal journey to Better Than Good and Improving™.  It is my intense desire to not simply talk the talk.  If I don’t walk the walk, then my words are hollow and meaningless.  The words of the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13 verse 1 come to mind: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal (emphasis/addition mine).  For me, love and integrity are two sides to the same coin.  Integrity is a big part of moving to the state of Better Than Good and Improving™.

Continuing by sharing more of what I have just scratched the surface on in The 5 AM Club by Robin Sharma, as well as the teachings of Jesus Christ, integrity is everything.  If we are to be beacons for this world, the light of God, through Jesus Christ, must shine both inwardly and outwardly.  You may be put off by these words and my unabashed belief in the Trinity.  In one of Zig Ziglar’s many stories, he commented about the individuals who complained about the parts of the Bible that they did not understand.  Zig went on to suggest that it wasn’t the parts they did not understand that bothered them.  Rather it was the part they did understand that causes discomfort.  They aren’t called the Ten Suggestions!  Thus integrity is front and center.

Which brings us back to the quote at the top of today’s post.  Only when we are uncomfortable do we grow.  A few months ago, I was in the Caribbean with my wife, two of our closest friends, along with several other acquaintances, both old and new.  We went out to snorkel, and I discovered that I had no stamina for swimming.  This was a great disappointment to me as I love to swim and when I was much younger swam like a fish.  While a teenager, I was especially proud of the fact that I could jump in the deep end of the pool and swim the entire length, underwater, holding my breath the entire time.

No longer is that ability there, waiting to be called upon.  It has become buried over the years; like any muscle, it had atrophied.  Last year I began to lift weights.  And, as is often the case with us humans, I had trailed off on keeping it up.  After this experience of not having the stamina to do something I so looked forward to, I demanded of myself that I would get back to my weight lifting and build up my stamina.  This is a case of greatest discomfort providing me with the greatest opportunity.  It hurts, badly, some days to lift.  Greatest discomfort.  Not only is my stamina improving; my overall health is also improving.  I am slowly becoming stronger and finally getting over injuries from several years ago. Largest opportunity.  As Zig and others have often said, when life give you lemons, make lemonade.  Just make it without sugar, add unsweetened ice tea, and you will have a favorite drink of my favorite golfer, Arnold Palmer .

So the message here is clear.  Embrace those moments or seasons of discomfort.  Use them to your advantage and make them you greatest opportunities.  Grow, prosper, and always continue your journey of Better Than Good and Improving™

Thanks for stopping by on your way to Better Than Good and Improving™.

Yours Aye,

Dr. Edward M. Dunlap, Jr AKA Doctor D

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