“Seeking Discomfort” in San Francisco
Plunging Into the Unknown
Seek discomfort. This is the phrase that I have been striving to live for the past one and a half years here at Northeastern University. Discomfort involves being uneasy, feeling out of place, and being embarrassed. Discomfort is when you travel to a new country and have no clue what anyone says to you. Discomfort is when you stop hiding behind the excuses you give to explain why you aren’t achieving what you want. Discomfort is stepping out and taking action, plunging yourself deep into the unknown in search of success. This is why I decided to come to San Francisco. My journey to San Francisco started due to my desire to have my own business one day. I would always tell people my plan in life is to create my own businesses and be successful through that. Yet, no matter how much I talked about it, the businesses weren’t created. I was taking no physical action to start these businesses and achieve this goal. I was a hypocrite who only talked about his dreams. I couldn’t stand being the person who talked without taking any action. Therefore, I decided to stop talking. I decided to stop making excuses. Excuses that I was learning and too busy to start. Excuses that now is not the right time. Excuses that were empty and meaningless. No more would I talk without having any action behind it. This is where my journey to San Francisco began.
San Francisco is the startup hub of the world. People travel from all over to be a part of this unique environment of motivated entrepreneurs. As many have done before, I, too, have decided to take the leap and plunge myself deep into the unknown in search of success.
This city is not my place of comfort. I am here to seek discomfort. I am here to better myself as an entrepreneur, as a student, but most importantly, as a person. This bustling city is full of determined entrepreneurs and world-changing ideas. My goal is to be a sponge and learn as much as I can from everything around me. I want to jump headfirst into all of it, only allowing myself to sink or swim, and I cannot sink.
Over these next four months, I will learn more than I ever have before. I will accomplish more than I ever have before. I will grow more than I ever have before. I am no longer hiding behind the excuses. I am uncomfortable. I am vulnerable. I am calling myself out on all of the excuses that I have given to myself to accomplish my goals. It is no longer the “I’ll do it” phase, but instead, it is now the “I’m doing it” phase.
I am not meant to be ordinary. I am not meant to fit in. I am meant to be different and make a change in this world. The only way in which this will happen is by consistently pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to improve. I will continue to push myself into the uncomfortable, foreign, and unfamiliar lands to me. Through it all, I will be insanely uncomfortable. It’ll be tough, but I will enjoy every moment. And that’s the way you think when you seek a life of discomfort.
-Christopher Barry
Thank Northeastern University for all the opportunities that they have provided me throughout this first year and a half. I am beyond excited to continue my journey here at Northeastern and push myself into the uncomfortable. I must also give credit to the YouTube channel “Yes Theory” for coining the phrase “Seek Discomfort.” The entire Yes Theory team exemplifies what it means to seek discomfort. They push themselves to become better individuals every day. I am extremely grateful for sharing their experiences with us and being a motivation for millions to seek discomfort daily.
*this was originally posted on January 16, 2020
