--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What happens when we're willing to feel…" description: "\"What happens when we're willing to feel bad is that, sure enough, we often feel bad - but without the stress of futile avoidance. Emotional discomfort,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/martha-beck-961_accepted_what-happens-when-we-re-willing-to-feel_2566543.png" --- # What happens when we're willing to feel bad is that, sure… ![“What happens when we're willing to feel bad is that, sure enough, we often feel bad - but without the stress of futile avoidance. Emotional discomfort, when accepted, rises, crests, and falls in a series of waves. Each wave washes parts of us away and deposits treasures we never imagined.” quote by Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/martha-beck-961_accepted_what-happens-when-we-re-willing-to-feel_2566543.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/martha-beck-961_accepted_what-happens-when-we-re-willing-to-feel_2566543.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec6/martha-beck-961_accepted_what-happens-when-we-re-willing-to-feel_2566543.png) > “What happens when we're willing to feel bad is that, sure enough, we often feel bad - but without the stress of futile avoidance. Emotional discomfort, when accepted, rises, crests, and falls in a series of waves. Each wave washes parts of us away and deposits treasures we never imagined.” [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Accepting emotional pain lets it flow like waves, revealing hidden strengths and insights. **In simple terms:** Facing pain reveals hidden strengths. Key Takeaway Embrace discomfort to discover inner treasures. Themes self‑growth emotional intelligence resilience Mood reflective hopeful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - personal crisis - creative work - relationship conflict Key Concepts psychology mindfulness transformational learning Questions to Reflect On - How can you safely sit with discomfort? - What treasures have you uncovered after a painful period? A Different Perspective Discomfort may overwhelm without guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accepted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepted/) [Avoidance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoidance/) [Avoidance Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avoidance-emotional-1653757/) [Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/away/) [Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad/) [Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort/) [Discomfort Accepted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discomfort-accepted-1653758/) [Each](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/each/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Emotional Discomfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-discomfort-1653756/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Falls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falls/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-bad/) [Futile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/futile/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Imagined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagined/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/often/) [Parts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parts/) [Rises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rises/) [Series](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/series/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) [Sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sure/) [Treasures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treasures/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Wave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wave/) [Waves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/waves/) [Willing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing/) [Willing Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willing-feel-948062/) [Without](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/without/) ## Related quotes > [Emotional discomfort, when accepted, rises, crests and falls in a series of waves. Each wave washes a part of us away and deposits treasures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/emotional-discomfort-when-accepted-rises-crests-and-falls-in-a-series/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Oh, yes. I'd do it all again; the spirit is willing yet; I feel the same desire to do the work but the flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/oh-yes-i-d-do-it-all-again-the-spirit-is-willing-yet-i-feel-the-same/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [The first thing is to be willing. You must become willing to feel the discomfort that's occurred and/or shown up. Some of it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/the-first-thing-is-to-be-willing-you-must-become-willing-to-feel-the/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) > [Well, it starts with being willing to feel what we are going through. It starts with being willing to have a compassionate relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/well-it-starts-with-being-willing-to-feel-what-we-are-going-through/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [Your only real choices are to open fully and receive their gifts or crucify them and be relieved of their force...But you must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/your-only-real-choices-are-to-open-fully-and-receive-their-gifts-or/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [If you want to play the game and win, you've got to play 'full out.' You've got to be willing to feel stupid, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/if-you-want-to-play-the-game-and-win-you-ve-got-to-play-full-out-you/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [“We need more people who are willing to demonstrate what it looks like to risk and endure failure, disappointment, and regret—people willing to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-need-more-people-who-are-willing-to-demonstrate-what-it-looks-like/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [“Your habit of avoiding mental and emotional discomfort is your #1 reason for your being stuck where you are in life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/your-habit-of-avoiding-mental-and-emotional-discomfort-is-your-1/) Tony Dovale - ReThink Your Success Mindset tonydovalespeaks.com > [As an individual becomes aware of subliminal phenomena, the shock may cause him some initial physical or emotional discomfort - possibly even concern over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-bryan-key/as-an-individual-becomes-aware-of-subliminal-phenomena-the-shock-may/) [Wilson Bryan Key](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-bryan-key/) > [“You eat to get happy, feel bad for indulging, and then eat more to escape your emotional discomfort. 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For example, people who fear failure often avoid new challenges in an effort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-morin/a-lot-of-problems-stem-from-a-desire-to-avoid-discomfort-for-example/) [Amy Morin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-morin/) > [Every day the sun rises is a new day to be your best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-vargas/every-day-the-sun-rises-is-a-new-day-to-be-your-best/) [Anthony Vargas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-vargas/) > [There's also no doubt that tax evasion rises along with taxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-steel/there-s-also-no-doubt-that-tax-evasion-rises-along-with-taxes/) [Michelle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-steel/) ## More by Martha Beck > [Imagine what you'd do if it absolutely didn't matter what people thought of you. Got it? Good. Never go back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/imagine-what-you-d-do-if-it-absolutely-didn-t-matter-what-people/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [If I tell a man he needs to quit his soul-sucking job, he has to go home and fight with his wife or fight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/if-i-tell-a-man-he-needs-to-quit-his-soul-sucking-job-he-has-to-go/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [I was learning to track rhinoceroses in Africa and tracked right up on an animal that really I thought was going to kill me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/i-was-learning-to-track-rhinoceroses-in-africa-and-tracked-right-up/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [There has never been, and never will be, anyone who sees, thinks, or responds exactly the way you do. Whether you’re revolutionizing physics or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/there-has-never-been-and-never-will-be-anyone-who-sees-thinks-or/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Loneliness is proof that your innate search for connection is intact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/loneliness-is-proof-that-your-innate-search-for-connection-is-intact/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Most of my clients don't realize that the way they look and the way they think about their looks are two separate issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/most-of-my-clients-don-t-realize-that-the-way-they-look-and-the-way/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [The power to bring me out of solitude - or to push me back into it - had never belonged to another person. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-power-to-bring-me-out-of-solitude-or-to-push-me-back-into-it-had/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Learning to quit while you're not ahead, when the dull ooze of depression tells you things are not going to get any better, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/learning-to-quit-while-you-re-not-ahead-when-the-dull-ooze-of/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [The important thing is to tell yourself a life story in which you, the hero, are primarily a problem solver rather than a helpless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-important-thing-is-to-tell-yourself-a-life-story-in-which-you-the/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [A joyful life isn’t about others; it’s about the brightness that is associated with being alive. Your path to it is through anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/a-joyful-life-isn-t-about-others-it-s-about-the-brightness-that-is/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Many people think passion is a fuzzy feeling that makes taking action effortless. In fact, it's the gritty courage and tenacity to forge onward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/many-people-think-passion-is-a-fuzzy-feeling-that-makes-taking-action/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Angels come in many shapes and sizes, and most of them are not invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/angels-come-in-many-shapes-and-sizes-and-most-of-them-are-not/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Truth itself is something you live, not something you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/truth-itself-is-something-you-live-not-something-you-think/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) [Explore all 318 Martha Beck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) ## More Accepted quotes > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. 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