# Discomfort and Vulnerability Can Make Us Stronger!

- Link: https://dismasfellowshipnetwork.com/reflections/discomfort-and-vulnerability-can-make-us-stronger/
- Published: 2026-06-02T14:17:14-04:00
- Author: Paul Tuck

[⌊Lobster Hiding Under a Rock Safe from Predators⌉⌊Lobster Hiding Under a Rock Safe
from Predators⌉[

Lobster Hiding Under a Rock Safe from Predators

**_Do you know how lobsters grow?_****  Through discomfort!**

Lobsters experience a fascinating biological process called ecdysis – the shedding
of their exoskeleton to allow for growth. Simply put, their bodies grow but their
shells don’t. So the shells have to be shed.

**The catalyst for real growth in a lobster is discomfort**.  The shell becomes 
constraining and uncomfortable.  When the discomfort becomes too much, the lobster
hides under a rock formation to protect itself from predators, and then wiggles 
its way out of the old armour.  Sometimes it even eats its old shell for nourishment.

During this molting process, the lobster is raw and vulnerable, with no protection.
The new shell eventually grows in _bigger than needed_, giving room to grow into
it.  The full process takes 6 to 8 weeks for the shell to reach full hardness.

It must be noted that the lobster cannot grow to a newer and bigger size without**
first **being_ **uncomfortable**_ and second, being **_vulnerable._**

**Likewise, in our own lives**, in order to grow, we have to forsake our old shells
and be willing to experience discomfort and even vulnerability, which often happens
during transition.

**REFLECTION QUESTIONS:**

**_How has discomfort helped you to grow?
 What old shell are you trying to shed
now?
_
 OR _How do you relate to what the lobster goes through?_