While on vacation, I found this old post from a year ago.
My wife and I got a dog last week. A puppy we named Fox. She's a heartbreaker (see attached photo) and she is really my first time being a parent. This is not meant to downplay parenthood or overstate pet ownership, but my life and schedule are no longer subject to adult human reasoning - and this means change.
When we go through life changes like this, it is commonly referred to as stretching outside our comfort zone. When we get outside our comfort zone we grow and learn at a faster clip than normal. We spend much of our time protecting ourselves from being uncomfortable at home, at work, and in our daily lives. We like routine and we like our coffee just right, our air conditioning at the perfect temperature, and we don’t eat mushrooms (at least you shouldn’t, ever). My point is, we are conditioned to avoid being uncomfortable. I compare stretching outside our comfort zone to inflating a balloon. When you first blow on the balloon, it requires a ton of force to expand the rubber into a balloon shape. But when you let the air out and try again, it requires much less strength. The balloon, the rubber is already conditioned to expand. In life, we go through stretching moments but the next time it is easier and pretty soon, its routine again.
Have an comfortable/uncomfortable week.