We've all heard the advice to "get out of your comfort zone" by taking on a new challenge. A recent study goes a step further: Make discomfort a direct goal. That's more likely to motivate you if you only focus on what you hope to learn.
In the first of five experiments, the researchers assigned several hundred students training at Second City Chicago （participate） in a small-group improvisation（即兴） exercise, and then instructed half of the group that their goal during the session was "to feel awkward and uncomfortable." The rest, （that） in the control group, （tell） to "feel yourself developing new skills." Members of the first group kept at the exercise longer than the others did and took （great） risks.
Experiments （involve） other dimensions of personal growth—engaging in expressive writing, learning about gun violence, and hearing about opposing political （belief）—produced similar results.
Reframing anxiety as excitement has been proven a way to improve singing in front of strangers, and thinking of stress as means to boost achievement demonstrated a stress-management technique.
"When people reinterpret negative experiences as （function）, they are more willing to engage in tasks that call forth those experiences," the researchers explain. "Instead of seeing discomfort as unrelated to the goal a signal to stop, they will start perceiving it as a sign of progress toward their goal."
