The Surprising Big Benefits of a Little Discomfort

Your discomfort zone is where growth begins

Dec 09, 2024

Scary moments can lead to great things

One of the scariest things I ever did was try out for a comedy improv troupe in college.

See, I loved the show “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and I always had this itch to try improv.

Senior year, I got my chance.

I went to the common room of my dorm where the tryouts were happening. I had zero experience in improv, other than watching the show, so I wasn’t expecting much.

I did my thing, a few people laughed, and I got in! And so began a one-year journey of fun and funny that led a lot of my friends to say, “I didn’t know you could do that!”

I didn’t know, either.

I only found out when I stepped out of my comfort zone.

Comfort is cozy, but it can be a killer!

If you found me or this Mastering the Everyday newsletter from reading any of my books or seeing a talk, then you know I had a weeeeeee bit of an anxiety problem growing up.

That meant, among other things, that I tried to do whatever I could to stay in the comfort of the familiar…of routine…of the cozy control of safety and predictability.

Anything less – or any push outward – would often trigger me into panic or other horrible side effects.

It was enough of a wrench getting to college and staying there, let alone joining an improv troupe.

But when I tore the tab off that tryout flyer in the student union, I resolved to go to the audition. I made a deal with myself to keep pushing past comfort to get into my discomfort zone.

It led to one of the greatest experiences of my life, and even had a hand two decades later in landing me my dream job when my future boss turned out to be an improv-er as well (I was hired on the spot once we connected on that).

Comfort is great and all, but if we take it too far, we can get stuck in a rut and kill any momentum our life might have to offer.

Discomfort is beneficial

I know, I know. The thought of discomfort can be…well…uncomfortable. But it’s worth it!

Here are some of the benefits of pushing past our comfort zones:

Boosted self-confidence: When you tackle a fear or new task once, you’ll feel more confidence to do it again
Increased excitement for new experiences: If you look forward to a little discomfort, you may be excited to take on a new challenge such as training for a 10k or learning a new instrument
Resilience: Each time you overcome a challenge, you come back stronger and stronger
Enhanced creativity: When you empty the idea jar and are forced to fill it up again, you tap new perspectives and innovations you never knew were there
The feel-goods rush in: When you confront fear and overcome it, you can get a dopamine boost, a sense-of-self-boost, and less stress the next time you face it
It can promote learning – and maybe some brain rewriting: When you get out of the familiar neural networks of habit in your brain, you may learn better and · challenge your neurons to fire in new ways and rewire to accommodate your new experiences
Personal growth: When you come to the edge of what you know, you start a journey into knowing so much more; getting into discomfort challenges us to stretch and grow, and there is no greater reward

Set a goal and see it through

No, you don’t have to go swimming with sharks or climb Everest to get the benefits of discomfort.

So, how do you get from the comfort zone to the discomfort zone? Well, here is a recipe to start:

1. Set your goal. For me, it was an improv tryout. For you? Anything! Maybe you make a deal that you’ll pull your long-forgotten guitar out of mothballs and try to play it. You’ll give up 30 minutes of other activities to do it.

2. Make a deal. Tell yourself, “I will get on YouTube and find a video that will teach me how to play two notes this week…C and G.” Hold yourself to that deal.

3. Start. When you have a moment, find the video. Pick the guitar up. Make the finger shapes. Strum the chords. Just do it. Are there obstacles at this point? Do your fingers start to hurt? Are you finding it frustrating? Identify the blocks and try to push past them.

4. Change things up if you need to. If you get to the end of your patience or tolerance for discomfort, don’t throw the whole goal away. Instead, make small changes to your routine, and get back at it if you can.

5. Stretch beyond. Once you achieve the goal of learning C and G, learn D. There are thousands of songs that use those three chords. Find one and learn to play.

You can apply this to almost anything from difficult conversations with a loved one that you’ve been putting off to a workout routine.

Give it a try!

Make friends with discomfort

Here’s the MtE tip: Push yourself into discomfort once in a while

When I reflect on my life, I can see so many times I pushed past what was safe and comfortable for me.

And you know what? As difficult as it was, those are the times that paid the biggest dividends.

Those are the times that make me proudest. Happiest.

Standing up in front of my whole college and trying to be funny was a test I had to pass every Friday night in the student union for a year.

But there have been so many more, in all areas of life – from health issues to putting books up on Amazon for the world to read to navigating the ins and outs of jobs and relationships.

So much discomfort, but so much reward.

But if you try again and again, you will see the benefits of getting into the discomfort zone.

You won’t always have a plan to do it. Sometimes, you’ll have to improvise.

Mastering the Everyday