Short-term discomfort: pushing through for long-term gain

During a recent hike, my husband, Bob and I hashed over an uncomfortable situation we’d found ourselves in due to several choices we’d made. And for weeks, we’d been grasping at ways to quickly bypass the unease to reach our end goal. But while we talked, we soon realized we’d fallen down the rabbit trail of our culture’s “fast food” mentality and the expectation of instant gratification. This got me to thinking about comfort zones—those spaces most people encounter at least once in a lifetime, after which we questioned the prospect of jeopardizing our future success if we don’t allow ourselves the time necessary to accomplish each step toward our final destination. Because even though it’s not always possible to control the outcome of our decisions, the sacrifice of temporary, or short-term, discomfort may pave the way for long-term victory—a reminder of the importance of adopting a marathon vs. sprint mentality, as well as practicing patience.

When did you push through short-term discomfort for long-term results?

Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash