How to get comfortable being uncomfortable

Consider what life would be if we only did what we know, what we were already good at or what we currently liked. We would never grow.

It's no wonder babies cry when they are pushed from the safe and nurturing confines of their mothers' womb and into the brightly lit, cold confines of the world itself. And yet, despite all of our experience at adapting and stretching ourselves in one way or another, it still makes us uneasy. Learning happens outside of the familiar and comfortable. This isn't news for experienced entrepreneurs, who have learned the hard way that trying, failing, changing directions and trying again is often the only way to succeed.

But is there such a thing as venturing too far from the known? At what point is learning replaced with simply inducing fear or anxiety just to say you did?

Imagine a person who is afraid of heights generally, but still willing to ride roller coasters. The key is to have a full understanding and trust of the safety measures in place and a learned expectation of their own physiological response. In other words, they know their limits and prepare for the times when they are willing to push those limits.

Researchers have long known that the brain is primed for learning when the outcome is uncertain, marked by increased activity in the frontal lobe. In a 2018 study, researchers found that participants were willing to take risks if even a small chance of reward was present—20 percent of the time, in this case.