Discomfort makes you smarter faster

Adam Grant in his book Hidden Potential, shares research that shows when students felt a minimal amount of discomfort to learn, their rate of learning was slower than when they felt a higher level of discomfort.

When the body and brain are placed under increased pressure, they are forced to adapt and develop at a faster pace. This often involves engaging in tasks or confronting fears we might otherwise avoid.

It's similar to exposure therapy, where discomfort is heightened intentionally to reduce it over time. By facing challenges head-on, we build resilience, ultimately progressing more quickly and effectively.

In his early career, the now famous US comedian Steve Martin started learning his craft very slowly. He did stand up routines on stage, asked for feedback from peers and studied other comedians performances. But he was not getting the laughs or recognition he wanted, despite working hard. He had avoided writing his own jokes because that's what he was most uncomfortable doing.

As a last resort he started writing. To his surprise, his timing and delivery on stage started improving because he was not as rambling as he was before. He started getting more laughs to his punchlines because he had made the jokes tighter and more succinct.

What was uncomfortable for him led to him learning faster and succeeding.