Three People Who Leaned Into Discomfort…And Won Big
What if the personal transformation you're seeking is hiding right behind the discomfort you're avoiding?
More than half of Americans question their path and purpose every month, yet most of us spend our whole lives playing dodgeball with discomfort. Duck, weave, avoid at all costs. But here's what I've discovered after decades of dancing with the edge of my comfort zone: the real breakthroughs (i.e., the kind that truly change your life) are almost always on the other side of what you really don't want to face.
Want proof? Here are three people who recently stepped out of their comfort zone and started leading the dance instead. Their stories prove that personal growth and development aren't just about reading the right book. It's about doing the uncomfortable work.
1. Simone Biles: When Your Wrong Turn Becomes Your Right Path
Picture this: You're the GOAT of your sport, with the whole world watching, and you have to choose between what everyone expects and what your gut is screaming at you. That was Simone Biles in July 2021 when she withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, dealing with the "twisties” (basically, when your brain and body stop talking to each other mid-flip).
Talk about a wrong turn.
The internet lost its collective mind. Critics came out swinging, questioning everything from her toughness to her character. She could have done what most of us do when we hit our edge accidentally—bounce right back to the safe middle and hope everyone forgets.
Instead, she did something that would make any personal success book proud: she leaned into the discomfort. Not just the public heat (which was brutal), but the much scarier stuff underneath. Weekly therapy sessions. Every Thursday. For nearly two years. Even during competitions.
"In the beginning, I think the hardest part is logging on to my therapy sessions and convincing myself to go," she admitted. That's someone choosing to operate at her edge instead of letting her edge operate her. That's someone who decided to change her mind and change her life.
The result? Paris 2024: four medals, three gold, performing vaults that make other gymnasts' jaws drop. But here's the real shift—she went from being just an incredible athlete to being a mental health advocate who showed millions that true strength isn't just about never falling apart. It's having the guts to put yourself back together.
2. Makayla: The Quiet Victory You Never Heard About
While Simone's story made headlines, here's one that didn't: Makayla, a 20-year-old who couldn't even handle basic daily tasks because of severe depression and anxiety. No cameras, no crowds, just a young woman staring at her own comfort zone edge. Every. Single. Day.
For most of us, the scariest comfort zone dance isn't the public one. It's the private one. The one where you admit you need help. Where you show up to therapy sessions when every fiber of your being wants to pull the covers over your head and pretend everything's fine.
This is what real personal transformation looks like in action.
Makayla spent 16 months in Victor's Transitional Age Youth program, choosing the daily discomfort of growth over the familiar pain of staying stuck. Sixteen months of uncomfortable conversations, hard truths, and small wins that nobody celebrates with confetti. She had to learn how to change her life one difficult day at a time.
The shift? She not only hit her treatment goals but also kicked her dependence on medication. Now she's thriving in college, working, and building confidence one small victory at a time.
Here's what I love about Makayla's story: it reminds us that some of the most profound transformations happen in the quiet moments when no one's watching; when you choose to show up for yourself even when—especially when—it's hard as hell.
3. Brandon Harris: From Corporate Blah to $25 Million Boom
Ever have one of those moments where you're sitting in your "good" job thinking, This is slowly killing my spirit? That was Brandon Harris in 2018, watching people on the other side of sports marketing "having way more fun" while he stayed safe on the buying side.
He had two choices: stay in his lane or answer that mosquito buzz telling him there was something bigger out there. (Sound familiar?)
Harris chose to jump off his comfortable path and founded Playmaker. The early days were pure comfort zone edge dancing—rejections, eighteen-hour days, pitching his vision to skeptical athletes and investors who probably thought he was nuts. He became obsessed with feedback, reading what he estimates were "millions of comments" to understand what sports fans really wanted.
Here's the thing about operating at your edge: you get comfortable being uncomfortable. Harris kept adjusting, kept learning, kept pushing through the daily dose of "this might not work." He was living proof that you can make changes in life that actually stick when you're willing to get uncomfortable.
By 2024? Playmaker became a globally recognized sports media empire with athletes like Angel Reese and Shaquille O'Neal, generating over $25 million in earned media value. Not bad for a guy who was willing to trade his comfortable corporate cubicle for the beautiful uncertainty of building something from scratch.
The best part? He credits his success to staying curious about what he didn't know, rather than protecting what he already knew. That's personal growth in action.
Here's the Shift: Your Comfort Zone Book is Already Written
What connects these three stories isn't just that they "succeeded"—it's that they all figured out how to dance with discomfort instead of running from it. They learned what researchers at Cornell and the University of Chicago discovered: when you start seeing discomfort as a sign you're growing instead of a signal to retreat, everything changes.
Think about it like this: At 17, I learned to fly an airplane solo. Was I comfortable? Hell no. Was my heart pounding during my first solo flight? You bet. But I was willing to lead that dance with uncertainty instead of letting fear call the shots.
These three people did the same thing. They got comfortable being uncomfortable. They stopped asking "How can I avoid this?" and started asking "What if this uncomfortable thing is exactly where I need to go?"
They wrote their own personal transformation book, documenting their actions alongside their intentions.
Time to Get Your Shift Together
Here's what I've learned after decades of wrong turns that became right paths: the shift you're looking for is almost always hiding behind the discomfort you're avoiding.
Simone could have stayed retired after Tokyo. Makayla could have accepted that "this is just how I am." Brandon could have kept his steady paycheck and complained about other people having more fun.
But they didn't. They leaned in. They decided to change their mind as they felt that “change your life” wasn't just a catchy phrase—it was a way of living.
So here's my question for you: What discomfort have you been dancing around instead of dancing with? What "wrong turn" in your life might actually be pointing you toward something bigger?
Because here's the truth, as John A. Shedd said: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what a ship is meant for.” And you? You're not built for the harbor either.
Your next breakthrough might be one uncomfortable conversation, one scary decision, one leap toward uncertainty.
Ready to write your own personal growth and development story? It starts with getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
What are you waiting for?
For more insights on mastering the edge of your comfort zone and turning worry into winning, visit www.tylerjwirth.com. And if you're ready to dive deeper into your own transformation, get in line for "You're the Shift" – my personal success book that shows you how to finally answer your buzz and start living again (launching in January, 2026).
