Day 114: What Feels Hard Now Won’t Feel Hard for Long
Last night I was watching American Idol.
And I could feel it in my body.
That tight, uncomfortable feeling when you know someone is being asked to step outside their comfort zone, and everything in them is resisting it.
Some of the contestants were being pushed to move more on stage.
To perform, not just stand there and sing.
And you could see it.
In their faces.
In their breathing.
In the way their bodies just wouldn’t go there.
I know that feeling.
That place where you want to be more expressive… more open… more free…
But something in you holds back.
I was watching their micro expressions.
Those little tells.
The way they looked at Jennifer Hudson like they wanted to say, “I can’t do that.”
Even if part of them wished they could.
And two of them went home.
Because they couldn’t push themselves outside their comfort zone.
I don’t know if it was nerves, fear, or just not being ready.
But I felt it.
Because I’ve been there.
There was a time when I was learning how to become an entrepreneur.
I had joined a very expensive mentoring group.
The money was a stretch.
There was pressure to do something.
To create something.
And I decided I was going to write a book.
At a conference with 500 people in the room, Mark Victor Hansen gave me an ultimatum.
He told me to make 50 flyers with my top 10 title choices.
Then go to every table, interrupt people while they were eating, and ask them to vote.
I made the flyers.
Then I hid in the bathroom.
I felt like my body was going to burst.
My head was spinning.
Everything in me wanted to walk away.
But I didn’t.
I forced myself to go to the first table.
Then the next.
And the next.
I could barely get the words out at first.
But I did it anyway.
And afterward?
Something shifted.
I went back to the bathroom.
And while I was standing in line, I was talking to every woman.
Asking their opinion.
That was so far outside my comfort zone.
But it was like breaking the four-minute mile.
Once it happened there was no stopping me that weekend.
I was empowered.
That’s what I was watching last night.
That moment.
The moment where you either step forward or you stay where you are.
I was sad watching them choose safety over their dream.
I can’t walk in their shoes.
I don’t know what they were feeling.
But I do know this:
There are moments in your life where what you want is on the other side of something that feels impossible.
And in that moment, you get to decide.
Today’s Gentle Practice
Take a quiet moment today.
Think of something you’ve been avoiding.
Something that feels uncomfortable.
Something you know would stretch you.
Notice what happens in your body when you think about it.
The hesitation. The tightness. The pull to stay where you are.
Pause.
And gently ask yourself:
“What would it look like to take one small step anyway?”
Not the whole thing.
Just one step.
Take a breath.
And let yourself consider it.
Don’t overthink this.
What’s one thing you’ve been avoiding because it feels uncomfortable?
Hit reply and tell me.
Just one thing.
With you,
Lynn
