Seek Discomfort

Become Comfortable with the Uncomfortable

In the 11th grade, I was scrolling through YouTube when a channel called ‘Yes Theory’ caught my eye. A group built on the foundation of ‘Seeking Discomfort’ by spreading the belief that life’s most beautiful moments and meaningful connections exist outside our comfort zones. Yes Theory immediately related to my personal values and goals as a human trying to make the most out of my time on this Earth. As I continued to watch their videos and observe the positive outcomes from truly stepping out of one’s comfort zone, as a naturally shy teenager I found myself shifting my mindset to prioritize ‘seeking discomfort’ in order to grow and reach new heights.

Sweaty Palm Moments

As I began to adopt this mentality, I reflected on my experiences growing up, and found that my biggest moments of growth came from what my father likes to call ‘sweaty palm moments’. Whether it was the first time giving a speech in front of a large audience, testing for my black belt in Taekwondo, pitching start-ups to investors, playing guitar in front of an audience, or moving to San Jose for a summer to work at age 16, every moment of growth that I had experienced had come from those sweaty palm moments. It is in moments like those where we’re forced to step out of our comfort zones, where we are able to discover new things about ourselves, develop our passions and interests, meet like-minded people, and experience true growth.

At first, those sweaty palm moments where the butterflies would fly in my stomach felt intimidating as they were a feeling associated with something new, the unknown. However, one thing I noticed through my reflection was that every time I would complete a sweaty palm moment, I would have an indescribable feeling, one of pure adrenaline and a sense of accomplishment for pushing through that big scary feeling. I found that over time I began to embrace that big scary feeling and sought sweaty palm moments to embark on individual journeys of growth to learn more about myself and be better equipped to live my life to the fullest. In doing so, I’ve been able to face challenges I didn’t imagine possible and learn new things beyond belief, and I attribute the person I am today to each of my ‘sweaty palm experiences’.

Seek Discomfort List & Work from Home

As the summer has progressed and the pandemic has resulted in a full work-from-home environment, I noticed that those ‘first day of work butterflies’ weren’t as strong sitting in the comfort of my bedroom behind a computer screen. Recognizing that, I didn’t want this amazing opportunity of working at SAP to be a waste of my professional or personal growth. As a result, I decided to make a ‘seek discomfort’ list, to experience those sweaty palm moments and grow in my summer experience. Among other things, the list included presenting to a client, meeting new people across the organization, working on a new team unrelated to my skill set or role, etc. All of the things on my list required me to be put in new, unfamiliar scenarios and environments where I knew those sweaty palm moments would come, but along with it greater growth and development as well.

Seeking Discomfort Comes from Within

This mentality and the ‘seek discomfort’ list completely changed the course of these past couple of months. I’ve been able to grow, develop and experience new things from my bedroom office, a new understanding that seeking discomfort comes from seeking new challenges and can truly be accomplished anywhere, as long as you hold yourself to embracing those ‘sweaty palm moments’.