I subscribe to Christine Kane‘s email newsletter, which offers a variety of business- and life-related advice. Christine, an Asheville, N.C.-based musician turned life coach, offers her content for free reuse, as long as its attributed, so here’s one I especially liked recently:

The Sharp Edges of Expansion: Why Your Life Purpose Hurts Sometimes

Somewhere along the way, we learn to avoid things that are uncomfortable.
“Hey look at this,” we think. “If I just stay here in the middle – away from the sharp edges – then I don’t get too banged up.”
Slowly, our passions and goals cease being about what we want to create or who we dream of becoming. Slowly, our passions and goals become more about how to avoid the edges.
When the edges sneak up on us anyway – as they tend to do – then we find ways to soften them. Conveniently, we live in a world that will jubilantly help us soften the edges.
We distract. We eat. We smoke. We drink a glass (or three) of wine before dinner. We become anti-anxiety, anti-depression, anti-mood. We watch hours of stuff that means nothing to us. We soften the edges.
And you know what?
It kinda works.
In the moment, we seem not to get bumped as hard.
Only problem is that as we lose the edges, we also lose the wisdom that the edges are designed to bring. We lose the intuition that comes from the experience. We lose the discovery of our own boundaries and preferences. And we lose the joy that is a natural result of vulnerability, awareness and energy.
All of this results in losing our awareness of our life purpose, our passion.
In other words, you can try your level best to stay smack dab in the middle, not bumping into the edges. But one day, it will occur to you that you have avoided so much more in the process. Including your own life.
I am lucky enough to work with some of the most amazing women on the planet in my Platinum and Ruby coaching mastermind. These are women who run their own businesses. They’re creative. They’re entrepreneurial. They shine. They have big breakthroughs and major victories.
And, of course, they hit edges along the way. (So does their coach!)
In fact, I don’t know a single successful person who doesn’t bump into edges on a regular basis. It is always tempting to think, “If I’m truly living my purpose, should it hurt like this?”
But that’s just that old story we’ve memorized well over the years, trying to keep us safe in the middle of the road, not failing – but never winning either.
If you are reading this, and you know in your heart that you have a big WHY, then welcome and bless your edges. After all, no one succeeds without them.