Do you think that it is necessary to suffer in order to grow?

I have grown up with the belief that you have to suffer in order to grow. I’m seriously questioning this belief at the moment. I’m not sure whether we really do have to suffer in order to grow. By suffering I mean stepping outside your comfort zone…perhaps doing things that you don’t want to do because of fear… you don’t feel ready perhaps; taking the leap before you are sure about something or feel comfortable about doing it.

I think of Butterflies in their cocoon, growing, all nice and cosy in there (presuming that they are not going through massive amounts of pain!) and they only emerge when they are strong enough to break out of their cocoon. I also think about birds who fly the nest before they are ready and inevitably fall to the ground and die. I wonder if nature is teaching us something here. However, I’m sure there are plenty of other analogies in nature that would suggest that we DO have to suffer to grow…. The implications of the answers to this question I think are far-reaching for our lives.

What are your thoughts?