Discomfort is the key to growth
I recently had a conversation with someone about exercise, and they told me they don’t work out because "it hurts." Naturally, I would never encourage someone to push through real pain—pain is your body’s way of signaling something is wrong. But after asking a few more questions, I realized they weren’t talking about pain; they were talking about discomfort.
They had always heard, “If it hurts, don’t do it,” but never really considered the difference between the pain of an injury and the discomfort of pushing your body a little harder. This got me thinking about how often we avoid things just because they feel uncomfortable.
If change were easy, we wouldn’t be here discussing it. The truth is, change is hard—especially when it involves breaking long-standing habits. In the beginning, it often feels awkward, even unnatural. But learning to embrace discomfort and tackle hard things head-on is a powerful step toward growth. No matter what change you’re working toward, discomfort is a sign of progress. It means you’re stepping outside of your comfort zone, challenging yourself, and growing.
Whether it’s improving your fitness, changing your diet, or switching careers, moving from the known to the unknown is scary—even when you know the known isn’t good for you.
Maybe the advice of “learn to be uncomfortable” is missing something. Maybe better advice is: “Choose your discomfort.”
Changing your eating habits is uncomfortable, but so is dealing with health issues.
Exercising is uncomfortable, but so is feeling weak and sluggish.
Taking the leap to find a new job is uncomfortable, but so is staying in a job you hate.
Recognizing that this discomfort is part of the process allows you to prepare for it. The more you experience it, the easier it becomes. What once felt difficult becomes second nature. You can’t avoid discomfort, but you can decide how you experience and build a relationship with it. Instead of fruitlessly trying avoid discomfort, take charge of it. Don’t just tolerate discomfort—embrace and direct it. Because at the end of the day, the discomfort of staying the same is often far worse than the discomfort of growth.