The Work Is the Way

You want change—but you keep choosing comfort.

That’s the cycle. You feel off, so you reach for something that makes you feel safe. Comfort food. Scrolling. Distraction. You tell yourself you’re just giving yourself grace, but what you're really doing is numbing. You’re avoiding the very thing that would move you forward.

Change doesn’t happen without training. And no, not just in the gym. Growth—real growth—requires discipline. Awareness. Repetition. Showing up even when you don’t feel like it.

Comfort vs Change

You say you want to feel better. Be stronger. Show up differently. But your actions don’t align.

Why? Because change is unfamiliar—and familiarity feels safer, even when it’s not serving you. You already know how to justify staying where you are. It’s your status quo.

But you can’t outgrow a version of yourself you’re still comforting every time things get hard.

The honest truth? Most people don’t fear failure. They fear effort that doesn’t pay off immediately. They fear doing hard things with no applause, no guarantee, and no overnight win. So they avoid discomfort and call it self-care.

But your future doesn’t need more justification. It needs action.

Discipline Is a Daily Choice

Your mood doesn’t get a vote. Not when it comes to what you said mattered.

We get inattentive to discipline when we get too comfortable. You coast. You justify. You wait for motivation or clarity or ease. But what you need is consistency.

Discipline isn’t punishment. It’s self-respect in action. It’s doing the thing you said you’d do because it aligns with who you want to be—not because it’s easy in the moment.

Training is about trust. You trust that the work will add up, even when it doesn’t feel like it’s moving the needle today. You train your mindset, your behaviors, your identity—rep by rep.

You Can’t Delegate Growth

You can hire someone to walk your dog. You can find a coach for your kid. But no one else can become the person you’re meant to be.

That part is on you.

People want to outsource the hard stuff. They want the mindset shift without the confrontation. The results without the stretch. But if someone else could do your work, it wouldn’t change you. Growth can only come from within.

A coach can guide you. But they can’t do it for you.

The purpose of a coach is to help you reach a level you can’t get to alone. To challenge the part of you that’s playing small. To remind you who you are on the days you forget. But you still have to show up. You still have to put in the reps.

Rewrite the Story Around Hard

You avoid what’s hard because you’ve convinced yourself it means something bad. That you’re failing. That you’re weak. That you’re not ready.

But what if hard is just proof that you’re in the process?

Hard isn’t a problem. It’s a path. A signal that you’re stretching into something new. The version of you who has what you want—more strength, confidence, consistency—didn’t get there by doing what was easy.

Start telling yourself:

• “I do hard things.”

• “I’m not afraid of effort.”

• “This isn’t a setback, it’s training.”

When you reframe what hard means, you stop dodging it. And you start growing through it.

Choose the Right Pain

Here’s the truth: it’s going to hurt either way.

The pain of discipline. The discomfort of showing up. The soreness of stretching beyond what’s familiar.

Or the pain of regret. Of shrinking back. Of staying the same when you know you’re capable of more.

If you’re going to hurt anyway, let it be for something that builds you.

Pain is part of the price. But it’s also part of the reward. Because when you keep showing up—especially when no one’s clapping—you develop something unshakable. Confidence that’s earned. Integrity that’s lived.

Fall in Love With Who You’re Becoming

This isn’t about perfection. It’s about process.

You don’t need to overhaul your life. You just need to stop choosing what’s familiar over what’s possible.

Stop chasing ease. Start falling in love with who you’re becoming. The work isn’t the obstacle. The work is the way.

Yours in health,

Dana VanBrimmer, NBC-HWC

Founder, Live & Develop

Live. Develop. Rebuild with Purpose.