My Walk on El Camino de Santiago: Challenge Yourself

"The cave you fear to enter is where your power lies." ~~Joseph Campbell

As I was walking along the Camino, I was often alone. My mentor Jennifer got way ahead of me at times, and while I could still see her, I felt like I was alone. It was a very uncomfortable feeling, being so far from my familiar and in a foreign country on a road that seemed to go on forever.

I was slightly comforted by reminding myself that many people had made this journey. After all, a few days earlier I didn’t think I could go on beyond day one, and I had pushed through and kept going. I had found the strength to move out of my limited thinking and keep going.

That made me wonder, where else in my life I  had been staying too comfortable.

When a lobster outgrows its shell, it must withdraw from it and grow another. When it leaves its shell in the process of growth and change, it becomes very vulnerable. Each time this happens, it is discomfort that compels it to grow a new shell. Without this discomfort, the lobster could not grow, it would stay within its comfort zone.

It’s the same for us.

Sometimes when we find success, we get stagnant. When you have “arrived,” what comes next? Do you congratulate yourself repeatedly for making the trip? This is your chance to move on, to grow more instead of simply resting where you are. If you’re not risking, you’re not growing.

If you can push through the discomfort and fear, before you know it, you’ll discover a sense of power and peace of mind unlike anything you’ve experienced before.