Being Uncomfortable is Essential

It's easy to stick with what you know. Stay in your comfort zone. Play it safe.

It's easy, but it's not helpful.

As educators, we need to be reminded constantly of how it feels to be in our students' place: learning new things that are often unexpected. We need to push ourselves to grow, because that's what we ask of our kids.

I'm not a gamer. I'm not a social butterfly. I write code for fun, and I find writing code to be one of the most challenging yet rewarding things I've ever put my hand to. I love creating things. Things that do other things are even more fun.

But they're not easy. If they were, I doubt they'd be as interesting. It's similar to how a game works: there's a challenge, and you've simply got to keep trying until you get there.

I fail all the time.

But when a challenging project finally works, it grows beyond what I envision. I don't let failure stop me from creating.

Don't let discomfort keep you from expanding your horizons. Because when you don't, your students won't, either.