“A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world.” – Teddy Roosevelt

Life is never going to be easy all of the time. In fact, more than likely, we will remember the hard things that we go through far more often than the good things that happen to us. It is in discomfort that we really grow as individuals. It is in discomfort that our “comfort zone” is expanded.

Everyone has a little voice inside of them that keeps them from getting into uncomfortable situations. The problem is that we have listened to that voice so much that we are incredibly unprepared when a situation does arise that pushes us to that comfort limit. That little voice regularly tells us what to do, how to act, and with whom to interact in the first place.

Stop listening. If something makes you uncomfortable or it’s something you really don’t want to do, do it anyway. Do it just for the sake of practicing denying that little voice when the need really arises.

Think about it like this: At church we discuss sharing the Gospel with a lost and dying world around us. But how many of us really have the guts to do that with the next stranger we see? If we don’t practice silencing that little voice and getting into uncomfortable conversations with people we don’t know, how can we ever expect to tell them about Jesus?

“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” – John Wayne

Doing things you don’t like to do is about the practice and discipline of doing them anyway. Without the practice of doing them, we will never be ready when the time comes that we must do them. So, go ahead – saddle up.