YOUR BRAIN’S TEMPER TANTRUM PT. 3
Discomfort Is Not Your Enemy
3-Minute Read
Have you ever noticed your brain freaking out when something feels even slightly uncomfortable?
You don’t need a crisis—just a tough conversation, a new opportunity, or a moment of uncertainty—and suddenly your mind is spinning worst-case scenarios and shouting: "Retreat!"
That’s your survival brain, throwing a fit.
To your nervous system, discomfort = unsafe. It’s not trying to sabotage you—it’s trying to protect you from Stranger Danger. But in doing so, it often stands between you and the most meaningful moments of your life: the breakthrough, the pivot, the stretch, the growth.
Everything you want lives on the other side of discomfort.
This is Part 3 in our three-part series on retraining your overzealous survival brain. In Part 1, we challenged the idea that rejection is life-threatening. In Part 2, we dismantled the myth that being wrong is dangerous. And today? We’re confronting the belief that discomfort must be avoided at all costs.
Because the truth is, if you want to create more than enough of what matters, you’ll need to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Until you stop treating discomfort like the enemy, you’ll keep playing small—and that’s just unbearable when you're called to serve greatly.
Let’s dive in!
(Catch up on Part 1: Rejection Won’t Wreck You & Part 2: Being Wrong Isn’t Dangerous)
survival brain: obsessed with comfort
The survival brain isn’t lazy. It’s efficient.
It exists to keep you alive—and its fastest path to safety is sticking with what it already knows. That’s why discomfort gets flagged as an error in the system.
New client pitch? Unfamiliar. Creative risk? Unpredictable. Telling the truth? Uncontrolled outcome.
Discomfort triggers the alarm—not because you’re in real danger, but because you’re outside the bounds of familiar ground to the survival brain.
As children, this made sense. Discomfort often meant we were sick, hungry, scared, or powerless to help ourselves. But now, as adults? That internal wiring is outdated. And until you intentionally retrain it, it will quietly run your life: retreating, overanalyzing, or numbing to escape discomfort instead of using it as a signal to grow.
The result? You avoid the very actions that would catalyze growth:
You hesitate when you're meant to leap.
You delay what you’re called to deliver.
You settle for ease, and forfeit expansion.
Discomfort isn’t the problem. The problem is letting your childhood alarm system dictate you as an adult.
DISCOMFORT IS A DOORWAY, NOT A DANGER
Imagine you’re on the brink of a major opportunity: a new career, a bold pitch, a vulnerable post, a powerful confrontation. And suddenly—you freeze, stall, talk yourself out of it.
You say, “Now’s not the right time.”
Or, “Let me get more clarity first.”
Or, “What if it doesn’t work?”
This kind of reasoning is the survival brain in action, sounding the alarm to entice you back to your comfort zone. The survival brain is designed to keep you safe; it has no capacity to help you grow.
To the survival brain, unfamiliar = threat.
So you retreat. Rationalize. Delay.
You’ll justify it. You’ll call it “prudence” or “alignment” or “being realistic.”
And the cost?
Missed opportunities
Stalled dreams
Repeating the same year on loop
You don’t need more time. You don’t need more clarity.
What you need is a new relationship with discomfort.
Here’s the unvarnished truth: Your life will grow in direct proportion to the uncomfortable action you take. You can have either the pain of discomfort or the pain of regret; which will you choose?
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MENTAL REFRAME: DISCOMFORT = EXPANSION
Discomfort isn’t the enemy. It’s the price of entry to everything worth having.
Here’s your new operating system:
Discomfort = Expansion
Unfamiliar ≠ Unsafe
Fear ≠ Stop
The next time you feel your stomach turn, palms sweat, or thoughts scatter, don’t run. Pause and ask:
What if this discomfort is a sign I’m growing?
Who could I become if I leaned into this instead of pulling away?
What is my comfort zone costing me in terms of impact?
What would I do right now if I could be okay being uncomfortable?
Without my reasons to avoid discomfort, what legacy would I leave?
Discomfort is data—evidence that you’re growing into the next version of yourself. And if your vision includes scale, impact, or legacy, then learning to interpret discomfort accurately is non-negotiable.
For The Innovator Leader, you don’t need less discomfort. You need more self-mastery in the face of it.
“Your life will grow in direct proportion to the uncomfortable action you take.”
Your survival brain is a master at keeping you from discomfort—but only because it believes discomfort is the enemy. It isn’t. It’s your cue to rise up and become all you’re truly capable of being in this lifetime. And it’s your responsibility to master this part of your hardwiring, or it WILL master you.
Next time discomfort shows up, step toward it with curiosity, and you’ll unlock doors others never find. Welcome it. Walk with it. Because the life and legacy you’re capable of is on the other side.
Keep creating!
key takeaways
Why does discomfort feel like danger?
Your survival brain was wired in childhood to interpret discomfort as threat, even though it’s no longer true.
What’s the cost of avoiding discomfort as an adult?
Missed opportunities, stalled dreams, and the repetitive cycle of playing small.
How can discomfort be reframed to fuel growth?
Discomfort = Expansion. It’s not a red flag—it’s your next green light for legacy and impact.
May you prosper in every way!
Becky & TPL Team
52 Maxims of Conscious Choosing To Create the Deeply Satisfying Life You Desire.