Why Life Isn’t Supposed to Be Comfortable All the Time
The Science Behind Discomfort and Growth
The Optimal State: Optimal Anxiety
The Harvard Experiment on Stress Levels
How to Reach a State of Optimal Anxiety
1. Choose Things That Are 50% Familiar to You
2. Break Things into Baby Steps
3. Make it a Continuous Process: Scare Yourself Every Day
4. Mark Down Your Worries During the Process and Review Them Later
5. Keep Track of Your Tiny Achievements Every Day
6. Make Room to Grow Every Day

Life is a constant journey of growth and self-discovery. However, growth cannot happen without discomfort. It is a common belief that the ultimate goal in life is stability – a life without challenges, stress, and discomfort. While it is true that most of us crave stability, a life without challenges can rob us of our fighting spirit and motivation. Without discomfort, there can be no growth, and in a rapidly-changing world, stagnation is the first step towards obscurity and mediocrity.

The science behind experiencing the right amount of struggle or discomfort to spur growth has been studied for over a century. In 1908, two Harvard psychologists Robert M. Yerkes and John D. Dodson sought to explain different levels of performance. They discovered that people with high levels of stress and anxiety experienced decreased productivity, while people in a state of comfort could often maintain a steady performance level. However, people who wanted to experience growth had to endure some anxiety or discomfort. The sweet spot just outside of our comfort zone is called optimal anxiety. In this state, we experience a burst of energy and heightened state of awareness that we need to take on a challenge.

To reach a state of optimal anxiety, we need to choose things that are about 50% familiar to us. Things that are too commonplace or way beyond our current understanding won’t keep our attention. We need to strike a balance between familiar and novel. This balance, which is called the “Zone of Proximal Development,” is an area in which we are challenged to learn but not overwhelmed. We also need to break things down into manageable baby steps. Breaking big goals into smaller pieces can help us understand the basics and give us room to grow.

It is essential to make learning a gradual and continuous process. We need to choose something that exists just outside of our comfort zone and work to understand it. We may encounter roadblocks, and our brains may give us lots of things to worry about. Instead of letting these thoughts own us, we can write them down and review them later. We may also benefit from keeping track of our tiny achievements every day. Every success, however small or significant it is, activates the reward centers in our brains and triggers the feeling of achievement and pride.

Finally, we must make room to grow every day. Busting out of our comfort zone is not just a means to achieve our dreams. Finding our optimal level of anxiety affects everything from the amount of motivation that we feel to the neurotransmitters in our brain. A fear of the unknown is an opportunity to break what we need to learn into accessible steps. As Neale Donald Walsch once said, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”

In conclusion, life isn’t supposed to be comfortable all the time. While stability is something to aspire to, if things are too comfortable, we tend to become complacent. Growth cannot happen without discomfort. To reach a state of optimal anxiety, we need to choose things that are about 50% familiar to us, break things down into manageable baby steps, make learning a gradual and continuous process, mark down our worries and achievements, and make room to grow every day. By learning and growing through discomfort, we can experience life to the fullest and achieve our greatest potential.