“It’s a relentless challenge, the journey of self-development.”

Call it what you will: transformation, self-exploration, spiritual formation, or maybe just growing up. It will not ease up, and why would it? For the whole of existence, all of nature has yielded to the change of seasons, each and every year. The same challenge presents itself to us every day – responding to the conditions of life. If we don’t embrace it, we risk stagnation.

Some psychologists argue that we’ve learned to tolerate extremely high levels of discomfort, given the compromises we make with life. It is this familiar narrative that must have led to Thoreau’s piercing observation: “Most people live a life of quiet desperation.”

Is this true for you? Even for a part of you? Admitting this to ourselves is harder than we think, and a huge part of the problem. What holds the potential to move us from this state? Only you will know what has moved you in the past, or what you might be in search of in a hopeful attempt to get dislodged.  Whatever it is; deep down, we know that it is a daunting task. It’s a rather big project, somewhat like renovating a house. It is often hard to gather enough energy to get the project started. It takes conviction and months of planning to get to the point where the first rotten window pane is removed.

So, instead of imagining a complete makeover, why not start with one room of your life? You might – metaphorically speaking – end up repainting it, ripping out the old carpet, or replacing curtains with blinds. But don’t even start there. Start with clearing out a drawer or cupboard, or the empty shoe boxes underneath the bed. Start with cleaning up a shelf. Not much will change from the outside, but from the inside, you’ll know that you’ve started a renovation. How thrilling!

Why renovate at all? Why not simply let yourself be?

I wonder what your answer to this question will be. For me, it’s because there are so many things more worthy of our energy than tolerating discomfort and desperation. Imagine all that energy being channeled to something life-giving. 

Here’s a perspective: you’ve proven to yourself that you can hold the discomfort, the uncertainty, the stress. Now, prove to yourself that you can clean out a drawer. 

Which one will you choose? When will you do it? Make this commitment an entry in your diary; allocate 30 minutes to it, and then respond to whatever opens itself to you next.