Guest commentary: Learning to embrace discomfort
By Angie Currie
We live in a world that enjoys being comfortable and we have the technology to prove it. Climate control systems keep our homes a perfect 72 degrees year-round. Ibuprofen effectively eliminates our pain. E-commerce and food delivery platforms deliver our lunch and toilet paper without us ever having to leave the house. And cell phones provide a steady stream of entertainment, so we never have to experience a moment of boredom. These technological advances are impressive and sometimes necessary. But in our search for ease and convenience, we risk losing something important: the ability to grow through moments of discomfort. Building resilience and mental strength more often than not requires venturing out of our comfort zone.
Boredom is one of the most underappreciated discomforts we avoid. Boredom, however, may give rise to creativity. Have you ever wondered why most of your epiphanies happen in the shower? It’s often the one area where we’re away from screens and distractions, and where most of us generate our best ideas. Boredom, when embraced rather than avoided, is a thinking space for ideas to develop. Next time you catch yourself reaching for your phone out of habit in a moment of quiet, don’t. Let your mind wander. You might be surprised at the insights that surface when you allow silence to work.
Physical pain also has a place in building resilience. I’ll never forget the day we climbed our first 14er (a mountain peak that reaches an elevation of at least 14,000 feet) together as a family. My children complained the whole way up. Legs hurt, energy bottomed out, and I heard the phrase “I can’t” more times than I care to mention. But when we reached the summit, amazement trumped exhaustion and my 10-year-old son turned to me and said, “Oh my gosh, Mom, that was so worth it.” That moment became our family’s take on grit, and now whenever they utter the words “I can’t” I remind them of the view at the top of Quandary Peak. As Michael Easter put it in “The Comfort Crisis,” “You don’t grow by doing what’s easy. You grow by doing what’s hard.”
Grief has perhaps been one of the most transformative teachers for me. When I lost my dad in 2021, I experienced heartache like never before. It was heavy. And at times, paralyzing. But my pastor said something that reframed my perspective: “Grief can be a beautiful thing. It marks the end of something that mattered. And without it you can’t fully experience the true meaning of joy.” In that pain, I learned the depth of love, the strength of empathy and the importance of joy. Grief taught me what truly matters and helped shape who I am today.
Fear is yet another powerful teacher. I was 28 when my husband and I moved back to Iowa to be close to family and planned to accept a different job because Commerce Bank did not have an office in Iowa. Instead, I was presented the opportunity to stay with the bank and build a new commercial banking office in Des Moines. I would be lying if I said that I was not scared. I feared the unknown and the possibility of failure, but I took the leap and worked hard to make sure that I did not fail. Eleven years later, that leap is one of the most satisfying and most defining moments of my career. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” She was right. On the other side of fear is usually our greatest achievement.
Finally, we must be willing to embrace our weaknesses. We live in a culture that encourages us to play to our strengths, but real growth often lies in the areas we avoid. In sports, coaches push athletes to work on what they’re not good at. I was terribly slow out of the blocks, and I remember my track coach often making me do 50 starts before I could leave practice. It wasn’t punishment — it was training to make me a better runner. The same applies to life. Acknowledging our flaws and choosing to improve them is what leads to meaningful progress. Contrary to popular advice, we don’t grow by faking it until we make it. We grow by showing up, doing the hard things and getting better each day.
In a society that enjoys being comfortable, discomfort is a revolutionary act. But it’s through discomfort that we evolve. Whether it’s boredom, pain, grief, fear or weakness, each has something valuable to teach us — if we’re willing to listen.
Angie Currie started her career in the still male-dominated industry of commercial banking in 2008. She believes that leaning into discomfort has been key to her personal and professional success, helping her grow the confidence and grit that define her today. Currie serves as the Iowa market president for Commerce Bank. Outside the office, she’s passionate about mentoring college students and young professionals, sharing insights on the art and impact of executive presence.
