An interesting study was published in 2022 in the journal
Psychological Science called
Motivating Personal Growth by Seeking Discomfort. The study intended to demonstrate that seeking discomfort increased motivation.
They used things like taking improvisation classes, engaging in expressive writing, opening oneself to opposing political viewpoints, among others, to help test this hypothesis.
They stated the following as a concluding remark in the study's abstract:
"Across these areas of personal development, seeking discomfort as a signal of self-growth motivated engagement and increased perceived goal achievement relative to standard instructions. Consistent with our theorizing, results showed that these effects occurred only in areas of personal growth that cause immediate discomfort."
On the surface, this might seem surprising, but it shouldn't. Anything that results in improvement or growth will come with a certain amount of friction.
Of course we shouldn't out discomfort for the sake of discomfort, thinking that would be the same thing. But I do think it's important to leave your comfort zone in order to improve and make progress.
Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!
