Comfortably Uncomfortable Ep. 2

In this episode, I open up about some of the challenges I’ve  faced and how they pushed me out of my comfort zone. It wasn’t easy, but leaning into discomfort became the turning point. I share how changing my mindset helped me navigate tough moments and ultimately led to growth and a new direction. A perspective shift really started making me more aware of all the beauty that lies within the uncomfortable stages of life.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, I'm Emily Johnson, and you're listening to Comfortably Uncomfortable, a podcast about discovering the beauty, the benefits, and the unexpected breakthroughs that come from stepping outside of our comfort zones. This isn't about having it all figured out, but rather showing vulnerability through personal stories and everyday situations that challenge us to grow. If you're on a journey of self-discovery and growth, you're in the right place. Stay tuned, and together we can get comfortably uncomfortable. I don't know if you would call this a prelude or an interlude or whatever it is, but like I mentioned, I've already pre-recorded so many of my episodes, so if I were to go in fresh trying to talk about something that just happened today, for example, then it would just take too long for me to announce it. So I want to throw this in before the episode starts. So I just literally released my episode this morning, not even 24 hours, the freaking feedback and love and support and just everything that I was not visioning in this kind of manner has just really had me walking into my house today after a long ass day of work just screaming I literally sat on my couch and went because I'm just so happy like I truly am so happy and I haven't felt this kind of feeling in so long and this podcast is all about the being vulnerable so I just really wanted to expose my emotions in this moment because man I tell you the kind of feedback or was even feedback I will say just the messages that I was receiving all day have just filled me up I was telling my friend who took me out to celebrate how over the moon I felt and this feeling is just so I just can't even truly explain it. Like, I know, I can't even go in depth right now. I'm just literally so giddy. And I just, again, have not felt this feeling in so long. So the thought of having something new and exciting to look forward to just really motivates me to give the people what they want in like, you know, the most humble way possible. Because part of this experience for me is to just really see where I can take this, see how I can grow, see where this can go, Just, you know, so many different opportunities from this moment. And yeah, I mean, I don't know. I'm literally just, I'm at a loss for words. I'm just so shocked that I've already had over 150 downloads and it hasn't even been 24 hours. And I don't know if that's a lot. I'm not comparing it to somebody who has more or somebody who has less. But just for me, like I just wasn't expecting this kind of like pickup. And I mean, hey to my secret haters. because I know there's people out there who are listening to this who have not supported me the way that so many people have and that's okay this isn't for everybody and this maybe will be for some people to just listen to and laugh at and poke at but whatever the case is like I just feel so happy that I'm able to impact people because that is the mission and I mean I was hearing from people who I didn't even expect to hear from in regards to this so it's just like a really exciting new adventure. And I hope that throughout this podcast, I'll be able to really keep up with engaging with my listeners and being very proactive with trying to cater my stuff to what you want to hear. And so all the feedback is super appreciative, super appreciative. Is that the right context? I don't know. I'm so happy. Like I'm literally just like in a it just makes me feel so good and I feel like as I go through this podcast and really kind of let you know how I have felt throughout the last couple years like you'll understand that this is a moment I've been waiting for not the glorified reaction from people but just the feeling of myself of like oh my god you're finally moving forward after all this hard work you've put into all the sacrifices you've made just everything and aside from this podcast just in general like life has not been the easy And I feel like so many people can relate to that where there's a time where we're just totally taken down, like we feel defeated. And I just, I don't know. I just want this podcast to be like the representation of feeling like there's always something better beyond whatever you're going through. So yeah, I mean, again, freaking out at everything. I just feel like life's good. My hope is that we can all feel the sense of feeling good. So I kind of wanted to start an episode going more in depth as to why I wanted to create a podcast called Comfortably Uncomfortable. The idea came about about... A year and a half ago, shortly after I moved, or I guess at that point I had been in Dallas for, I don't know how long actually. I moved here in 2023. And I had the idea to start a podcast January of 2024. So okay, shortly after a year, a year after moving here is when I decided to come up with this podcast. Because that year was hell. Like honestly, it was so brutally challenging and a lot harder than I anticipated it. To be, because yeah, I mean, I think I underestimated the challenges of starting over, like literally creating a new life in a new place, like in a new environment where everything was just out of the norm from what I was used to. So yeah, the first three months of moving here, I would say were so great. Like I was honestly on a high, like everything was just, I mean, I feel like I was crying happy tears every other day because it just felt like, oh my gosh, I can't believe this is like really my life. You know, like everything was just working out so well. And I was obviously kind of like, you know, missing friends and family, but it wasn't anything like I really was when it hit probably right after the three month of moving here I just felt like reality set in of me feeling like my life was so different than what I was used to it being I sat in my feelings a lot about not having friends and family so close I think starting over my career was something I really didn't think would affect me the way it did like not only financially but just like I don't know feeling like you know you're kind of going towards the top and then you fall back down, like literally starting from ground zero. And that almost felt like in every aspect of my life, I was starting back at the bottom, you know, moving to a city where I knew my best friend and her husband and that was it. It felt like I was, you know, so lonely without having all my friends here or my career. It was like, I'm a hairstylist. So it was not really having the amount of clients that I was used to or making the same kind of money that I was. And just all these little things that I really didn't think about. I kind of almost maybe it was, I mean, it was definitely naive of me to think that I could pop up in another city and be exactly how I was. But yeah, it was, I mean, just to say it was a lot more challenging than I had expected it to be. So I got to endure what that felt like for quite some time. And it truly was not a good feeling. I mean, I was constantly second guessing why I even decided to move. in the first place, because my life was just so different. And then, I don't know, I think since being here, I've had a lot of time to really sit with myself. And I mean, I take full advantage of my alone time and what I can do in it to kind of put me in a better mindset. But that definitely took time to figure out. Because I would say in the midst of feeling so stressed out by all the challenges that I was facing, there was no way I could send myself to be out of the negative mindset that I was in because everything was just so negative. I know I was playing a part on how I felt because instead of just embracing this new life that I had essentially set out to create for myself, I was fighting everything that was coming to me. If I had the idea of not being able to just call someone to go out to dinner, then all of a sudden I was just so lonely. I just made that situation way worse by the thoughts that I allowed myself to think over it. And that was constant. That was like in every little category that you can imagine that was bringing me down. I was pretty much making it worse with just my mindset. But like I said, it definitely took me time to realize that I can't be thinking the way I am and expect things to get better. And I also knew that I wanted to give myself a fair chance living in another state like I knew it wasn't supposed to be easy but I knew it also wasn't supposed to be as hard as I was making it I remember like talking to people who had just moved in some point of their life and they I was like how long did it take you to you know like really feel settled in and nobody said less than a year you know so I think I like I would hear that and be so discouraged like oh shit I have to like deal with these struggles for how long um but I think I started just making little like everyday shifts um whether it was how I I've always been like a routine person but I think it was like in terms of the kind of routine I created here needed to be different than what it was in Charlotte because it I was just different and I feel like for so long I was holding on to doing things or having the same mentality or just like comparing Charlotte to everything I was doing here and it just obviously wasn't helping me grow it was if anything kind of retracting me because I was holding on to something that I was trying to grow from if that makes sense I don't know um I went home in like December like the end of the year um the end of my first year and I was there for a couple I would say like probably like a month working and you know interacting with friends and family and just it almost felt like I was living there again I remember leaving Charlotte to come back to Dallas and just thinking, yeah, I'm glad I'm not there anymore. I love being in Charlotte and I love being home and that will always be my safe place. But I just knew after that long trip back that even as hard and challenging as Dallas has been, I knew that I wasn't ready to move back to Charlotte yet. So I I had to make changes. I had to start thinking differently. I had to really start embracing everything that was thrown my way. And I think that's what kind of led me to the idea of my podcast, Comfortably Uncomfortable, because I started to really see the beauty that came from being uncomfortable. And so many more little opportunities started to expand for me and just my My self-growth itself has just become such a focus, and I don't think I would be able to really grow the way I have if I was still in my comfort zone. I feel like I keep referencing comfortability, but I mean, that's basically the whole concept of this. I mean, that is the concept of this podcast is how there's discomfort in so many different situations, but if we take that one little step outside of the familiar, then there's just an abundance of opportunities that open up. And I would have never really discovered the beauty of any of this if I stayed complacent. And so my goal is to really just be able to hopefully be an inspiration to others who have potentially gone through maybe not necessarily when it comes to moving, but just fear of taking the step into the unknown. I'll say even this podcast is a huge example of being comfortably uncomfortable because Speaking is not my strong suit whatsoever, which is ironic because as a hairstylist, I am constantly talking to people all day long and I feel like I can do that so effortlessly. But when you put me in a situation where I'm speaking to others, I really feel like I can't articulate as well as I can when I'm writing or when I'm one-on-one. So this is kind of almost something for myself to get better at I feel like the biggest thing I've realized is since moving here is the only way you can get better at doing anything is by taking the first step and I think that goes back to me taking the step to leave my comfort zone because even though it was hard I just knew there was so much more of how I could be living elsewhere and I think I needed to distance myself from you know the people I know or knew know. The people, part of my life, the environment that I grew up knowing, the only way I could reach another level of what I seek for myself is by starting over. This is kind of a cool analogy because since moving to my place, they were doing so much construction around me. And when I first moved in, there was buildings that were kind of just vacant. I mean, they were vacant. There was nothing going on with them, but they were there. And so over the course of the last year they started tearing these buildings down and now it's, you know, nothing. Well, it was nothing. And then another year kind of went by and there's just so much more to the structure of what's going on out there. I mean, they're constructing it in ways that I've never really witnessed because I don't know, you're not around a construction site all the time. But this one, I'm really seeing every bit of progress from it from the ground up. And it's just so cool to kind of put myself in that situation of like how I moved And sure, I was like stable environment, let's say, but at the same time, I needed to rebuild myself from the ground up in order to, I don't know, it sounds better when I think about it in my head. And maybe one day I'll be able to like word it the way I see it. I know I will. But yeah, basically, they're just like tearing down to start over and build something that's going to be even more beautiful. And that's essentially how I feel this experience has been for me. I've had to, you know, kind of tear myself down, rebuild, and I know something so much more beautiful is going to come from it. I really will have to work on how to tell that story because it is such a cool example to just compare myself to like what I witness every day when I sit on my patio and observe the construction. But also another cool thing is there's a sign. I don't know why they haven't torn that down, but I'm so thankful because it was one of the first things that I loved seeing when I originally noticed it. But it's this like billboard that says peaceful mind. And I just think that's just so cool it's just like a reminder to just like stay calm stay cool stay collected um but yeah that sign is still there so I'm like oh I hope that even with all this like maybe it's a reminder for them too like with as crazy as all that construction shit is getting it's just like just reminder to um just stay calm despite the turmoil and whatever it is or I guess stay peaceful which is essentially the same thing but but yeah I know that was all over the place I really do not know what I'm doing here so I'm trying my best to figure it out I feel like I keep preventing myself from just going and that's holding me back from producing anything. So I feel like at one point or another, I'm going to have to just let it go and see what it sounds like and hopefully just, you know, get better the more I do it. I do want to like feature friends along the way, which I think would be a great addition because even in the first episode, like it was just so much easier to just sit with a friend and have a conversation that just I feel like naturally could be inspiring. to someone or relatable. I mean, those are the kind of podcasts I like to listen to. And so my goal is to definitely give what I like to see. I mean, I am constantly told that I'm an inspiration. And I do love being inspired by others. So it makes me feel good that I can be the one inspiring. But also just like any kind of motivational content that gives me like a new perspective or just like a new outlook on things. I tend to enjoy as well so aside from you know kind of doing something for others I think for myself this is a great way to help build confidence not only in just my self-worth but I think going back to speaking and not feeling like I'm a great speaker I think this could potentially I mean definitely help me expand and I have recently discovered one of my core values is growth I always Thank you so much. this endeavor and hopefully leave you with some valuable information or such. I don't really know what to expect from this. And I'm also trying not to have a type A blueprint of how I want to approach it either. I think every episode can be something different, can hopefully, again, give you something to take away. But I think I'm really excited to just kind of see how this plays out. And I think more than anything, I'm just really excited to see the growth I can gain from this and continue on my journey. I hope you were able to connect with this episode to some degree, whether it was through laughs, aha moments, or even just a little encouragement. Any and all feedback is welcome. And as always, your time spent listening is greatly appreciated. Grateful for you all. Till next time. XOXO.