What if the key to achieving everything you want this year isn’t about setting bigger goals—but learning to embrace discomfort? As we step into the new year, let’s shift our focus from setting lofty goals to building something even more foundational: our capacity to sit with a new mindset or practice.
Goals and intentions are valuable, but without strengthening our ability to endure and navigate psychological, physical, and emotional discomfort, those aspirations risk falling short—or, worse, we may give up entirely.
Growth, resilience, and meaningful progress often come not from avoiding challenges but from embracing them. Let’s explore why getting comfortable with discomfort is the key to unlocking your true potential this year.
I recently joined retired Prologis CEO and podcast host Walt Rakowich, and one of the topics we talked about was the importance of managing your anxiety or fears as a leader. (Notice that I said “manage” rather than “avoid,” which is a comfort-seeking strategy.)
Walt strongly believes that most leaders never prepare to handle fear or anxiety, so they ultimately react in the moment, which often leads to limiting behaviors that are based on fears of incompetence or underachievement.
In his book, Walt described a moment when he was hired as CEO of Prologis while it was on the brink of going bankrupt. Once a Wall Street darling, Prologis stock had dropped to a few dollars per share when Walt accepted his position. The board’s hopes were high that Walt would be able to guide the company away from the ledge they were facing. Here’s an excerpt from his story about a moment when embracing discomfort was a turning point for him.
I was walking into one of the most intense meetings of my life with a knot on my head—and no way to hide it. Clearly, I had some explaining to do.
It was December 2008, just weeks after returning to Prologis, and the situation was dire. I had underestimated the company’s problems. On my first day back, The Wall Street Journal summed it up perfectly: “Warehouse Owner Prologis Hits a Wall.” Analysts predicted bankruptcy, calling us “overleveraged and counting on good economic times.” Survival became the sole priority. Sweeping changes had to happen—and fast.
Our leadership team worked late nights, desperately searching for solutions. On one of those nights, I was exhausted—physically, mentally, and emotionally. I felt the weight of the company, my new role, and the livelihoods of everyone who depended on Prologis. The pressure was suffocating.
I was physically, intellectually, and emotionally exhausted. Never had I felt so unsure about things, so unsteady in my course, so ill-equipped to lead. I thought about all the people I knew and cared for who worked for Prologis. I thought about the people in the room who needed my leadership. I thought about my family. With the crisis swirling around us, I was feeling the weight of my new title and the weight of the company’s future on my shoulders. It might as well have been the weight of the world. As the pressure and anxiety mounted in my mind, I bought myself the one thing I needed most—time.
“I need a few minutes,” I said, leaving the conference room to clear my head. As I walked the hallway, dizziness overcame me. I stumbled into the nearest office and passed out.
When I woke up minutes later, my head throbbed, blood pooled on the carpet, and a gash above my eye joined the knot on my forehead. But the realization hit me even harder: the team was waiting, and I still had no answers.
Leaders are expected to have solutions, to inspire confidence in a storm. But I didn’t have answers—just fear. When I returned to the room, the group stared at my battered face until someone broke the silence: “What the hell happened to your head?”
I told them the truth. Then, I did something every leader struggles with: I let go. “I don’t know what to say,” I admitted. “I don’t have the answers. I need your help.”
Once Walt sat with his discomfort, let go, and embraced vulnerability, it was a moment of empowerment for him and his team. By showing the team he trusted them enough to share his innermost concerns, he strengthened their connection around a shared purpose. In that critical moment, Walt felt like he was a better leader for having communicated openly in the toughest of circumstances.
When you’re dealing with critical moments, do you allow yourself to experience some discomfort to bridge the gap between the comfort trap and progress?
Despite how often articles are published about the misconception that leaders have to have all the answers, somehow we keep perpetuating the myth. Instead, I’d like to challenge you to get comfortable with the discomfort of not knowing, not answering, and not filling the void. Seek out fresh perspectives, tap your team for exploratory discussions, and look for ways to experiment with smart iteration and, yes, failures.
Embracing discomfort is akin to having a growth mindset and is a catalyst for leadership growth and organizational success. If you step outside your comfort zone, you’ll enhance your adaptability and resilience, enabling you to navigate change and maintain momentum in shifting contexts and markets.
In a study involving improv students, those instructed to embrace discomfort persisted longer and took more risks, leading to greater progress and skill development. Kaitlin Woolley of Cornell University at the Graduate School of Management said, “People often see discomfort as a sign to stop pursuing a goal, yet discomfort often means you are making progress. We find people can harness discomfort to motivate themselves to achieve important goals.”
Whether you’re stepping outside your comfort zone like Walt did with his vulnerability, navigating doubt, or you’re resisting the urge to fill the void with immediate answers, doing so is essential for growth and success. Great leaders don’t shy away from conflict or uncertainty; instead, they seek fresh perspectives, engage their teams in exploratory discussions, and experiment with smart iterations, even if it means facing failures. Great teams lean into discomfort by having enough psychological safety to talk about difficult things, to disagree constructively, and to sit with tension and disagreement without avoiding it or each other.
