Labor Produces Life

I’ve been listening to a lot of the late great Jim Rohn recently and I wanted to feature one of his philosophies. Jim is one of the first great voices in personal development but even he’d tell you that a lot of what he came to know wasn’t novel or innovative, it was old, battle-tested, and always understood throughout human history. In this instance he elaborated on something as fundamental as how “Labor produces life.”

There are two ways to think of this that are valuable, which are the literal meaning and the figurative meaning. Literally, human life is only possible when women go into labor. What is known to be one of the most difficult, painful experiences a human can have is a prerequisite to creating life. Life doesn’t just happen upon itself, it is nurtured, developed, and created through a process that most people wouldn’t do voluntarily if it weren’t for the miracle that is life.

This understanding leads us into the figurative meaning, which is that if you want to change your life, you need to put in the work. Just like life beginning is difficult and painful, changing your life is difficult and painful. Your brain and body have grown accustomed to doing things a certain way and once you start to disrupt that your brain will reject the changes you’re trying to make. The brain is evolutionarily designed to do this and keep you safe. So similar to pregnancy and labor, the discomfort is actually an indicator that you’re growing, that life is changing, because it’s evidence that there’s a new process.

Labor produces life - It births life and it changes lives. So don’t be afraid of the hard work. Don’t turn away from the discomfort of growth. Growth occurs when you’re outside of your comfort zone. What discomfort are you feeling that’s keeping you from growing?

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