Week 5 Meditation – Staying Present with Discomfort
Leadership rarely unfolds in perfect clarity.
More often, it requires sitting in:
ambiguity
disagreement
moral complexity
delayed resolution
or outcomes we cannot control
The nervous system does not like discomfort. It pushes us to fix, withdraw, dominate, or distract.
But steadiness grows when we increase our capacity to remain present — even briefly — with what feels unresolved. This week’s meditation focuses on strengthening that capacity. Not by suppressing discomfort.Not by amplifying it. But by staying with it.
You may find this practice particularly helpful:
when delaying a decision for more information
during unresolved conflict
when absorbing difficult news
or when the urge to “just fix it” feels strong
Capacity is built in small increments. One breath at a time.
Reflection Prompts
In your leadership journal or in the comments below, you may want to reflect on the following:
What forms of discomfort are hardest for you to remain present with — silence, conflict, uncertainty, disappointment?
How do you typically attempt to exit discomfort quickly?
What has been the cost — relationally or organizationally — of reacting too quickly?
What might become possible if you stayed present just slightly longer?
This week, I've been noticing my discomfort around ambiguity and uncertainty -- particularly as it pertains to starting a new project that's a real stretch for me. I've tried to exit that discomfort quickly by applying a bunch of planning and structure and detailed goals, but the cost has been a total depletion of energy and motivation about the whole thing, along with general grumpiness towards the people around me (SO fun for them...). Staying with the discomfort feels like a whole new idea! As I've tried to practice it this week around this project, I feel motivation returning, along with patient curiousity, and a sense of calm confidence that I can move forward without figuring it all out first. Less grumpiness also means more constructive convsation and potential collaboration. This is going to be an important practice for me going forward!