The saying goes that we should be comfortable with being uncomfortable, but that’s easier said than done.
Many of us have gotten used to the bubble we’ve created for ourselves throughout our time in undergrad. Staying in our bubble can make us feel stable and have a sense of control of our lives, but that same comfort can also be what holds us back from trying new things.Â
Choosing discomfort is not easy, yet it can be what helps us grow in our academic pursuits.
For me, I had fallen into a routine in my courses for the first three years of my undergrad. I read, analyzed, wrote, repeat. To say it started to become second nature to me would be an understatement. I expected all my courses to fall into the same cycle which made me feel stable, until I realized that I was just avoiding what made me uncomfortable.
It was the little things at first. I avoided exams because I told myself over and over again that I am a poor test taker or I avoided professors who didn’t have good reviews or any reviews on “Rate My Professor.” Then it became the bigger things like avoiding courses overall because they covered topics that were brand new to me. I didn’t realize it right away, but I was limiting myself to what I was comfortable and familiar with instead of branching out.
Eventually, I was left with no other choice. I had completed the courses that were required for my degree or fell into my comfort zone. My nightmare became a reality, I had to find a new field of study to dive into blindly. It sounded terrifying at first. I was unsure of how my courses would be structured or what would be expected of me.
It wasn’t until I started to think about how this can be the beginning of something great for me academically, professionally, and personally did the nightmare quickly become an opportunity. Choosing to minor in communications could open more doors for me professionally, introduce me to new topics that I can apply to my developed interests, and stop me form underestimating what I could or could not do.
Choosing discomfort for our benefit does not need to be as drastic as changing our field of study, but it can be in choosing to go to a new class that you have no prior knowledge in or that challenges your understanding of a topic. Maybe even joining a club or going to campus networking events that always sound daunting to us.
The idea is essentially to try something new that takes us out of our comfort zone. Choosing discomfort, big or small, can change how we see what we can or can’t do— and when better to choose discomfort than in our college years?