My nervous system gets shot up fairly quickly anytime there's something challenging that needs to be done. Having grown up with an active sympathetic nervous system, my heart beats rapidly at the first sign of difficulty.
No exception when I decided to do the Huayhuash trail or the Ausangate trail last year. The first one is 10 days long and the last one is not trekked very often and most likely you'll be doing it by yourself, without any support. When the opportunity came about to do both last year, naturally, my first response was "hell no".
But I've also built resiliency, and I know how much growth I receive every time I push past that natural resistance and comfort zone. On the other side of that fear, there's always more life, vigor, and Awe (that's my word for the Knowing that there's something greater at play).
I'm the guy who would love nothing but to chill, to take it easy, and to be in comfort.
And that's exactly why I spent 40 days in the jungle dieting with plants, climbed mountains, sky dived out of some really sketchy planes, trained in public speaking, cliff jumped without knowing how to swim, lived on a sailboat, and have spent close to 55 days so far in noble silence and meditation.
Do I love doing these things? No way. Every time even now, before I embark on any of these experiences, I sweat like a bullet, my stomach grumbles, and I get into a haze.
But I know that's exactly where my breakthrough is, each time without a fail. One of my friends told me about three years ago that our dreams should be scary. And if they're not, they're not big enough.
Ultimately, our dreams and everything we put on stake when it comes to claiming our dreams should scare us. Because as you pursue your dreams, you're going to have to learn to take up more space than you've so far.
More. Bigger. Better.
You're going to have to learn to put on a suit that's bigger than you, and slowly fit into it.
That's where you grow.
More importantly, that's where you live.