I just completed a 783-mile bike ride from Crater Lake to Yosemite.
In previous years, I’ve cycled from SF to NJ, from Key West to Maine, and from Seattle to San Diego.
I love the adventure. I love being outside. I love experiencing the country. I love the challenge. And I love how strong I feel pedaling across the map.
At the core, however, I ride to get uncomfortable.
I’ve learned that when I’m not paying attention, my life tends to drift toward convenient, habitual, and comfortable.
But my world only expands when I’m uncomfortable.
To get uncomfortable, we have to intentionally create it. For me, training every morning, rearranging work, leaving my family, and traversing unknown roads, hills, countless cars, and strangers while sitting on a less-than-cozy bike saddle for hours, day after day, through weather extremes is physically, emotionally, and mentally uncomfortable.
Remarkably, each time I get uncomfortable, my confidence, my courage, and my self-awe surges. And I discover a renewed appreciation for and trust in my team, my family, and myself. That’s always worth a few saddle sores!
What do you do to get uncomfortable and bolster your self-awe?
(Post a comment here and let me know so I can be in awe of you too!)