One of the things that separates those who “do big things” from those who just cruise life on autopilot is the level of discomfort to which each is regularly exposed.

The best things happen at the exit ramp of your comfort zone.
-Karen Salmansohn

On the two projects with which I have been involved this year, the most intense periods of personal growth have come during the times in which I regularly engaged in behaviors that pushed me away from what I was naturally inclined to do.

Examples: giving visibility to my inefficiencies, making public (internal to the project(s)) my areas for improvement, insisting on public accountability, setting my own goals, and not relying on guidance or oversight for my next moves.

It’s an unnatural, uncomfortable, and fitful adventure, and the payoff is so massively rewarding that I can’t imagine doing things any other way.