#OneWord 2020 - Part Two

In my last post,  I reflected on my success with the 2019 goals I set with my #OneWord: Persist.

This is my fifth year participating in the #OneWord social media challenge and I've had varying degrees of success using a single word to narrow my focus. The experience has been positive and beneficial but, this year, I am taking things in a different direction.

My wife and I recently watched a Ted Talk by Susan David in which she discussed the power of emotional courage.

The following quote resonated:

"Only dead people never get stressed, never get broken hearts, never experience the disappointment that comes with failure. Tough emotions are part of our contract with life. You don't get to have a meaningful career or raise a family or leave the world a better place without stress and discomfort. Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."

I'll admit, I have learned to diminish my emotional response to situations. There was a time when I was aggressively outspoken regarding my feelings about...well...pretty much everything.  At times I was a bit pushy and, regretably, did not take the feelings of others into consideration when ranting and railing over the many injustices of the world (big and small, real or imagined). Some of this I couched in comedy. I felt, incorrectly, that I could say anything I wanted as long as it was "meant to be funny".

I eventually made the conscious decision to censor myself. It was challenging. I still struggle to "read" people and situations. However, with time and practice, I got a lot better. My life improved noticeably. Friendships, career, physical well-being and most importantly, my relationship with my girlfriend (now wife) flourished.

However, am I just internalizing, or bottling, these emotions?
Do I need to start paying the price of admission to a more meaningful life? 
Do I need to embrace discomfort?
I think so. DISCOMFORT is my #OneWord2020

It is important to add the following caveats.

• I will continue to work on my ability to acknowledge the feelings of others and take them into account when acting on my discomfort.
• I will seek guidance from others - especially my wife.
• This will be a slow process and I am not setting goals for myself yet. I have set an alarm for April to update this post. 

I suspect my first challenge with discomfort will be modifying the dependence I have with my smartphone. It brings me great comfort and allows me to disengage with human connections. That has to change if I intend to live a more purposeful and meaningful life.