It’s not easy to distinguish between uncomfortable and uncomfortable. The first one needs to be addressed. We’ve got to sit with the second one.

The solution most often chosen is to push it away or put it somewhere else for others to deal with it. While it might feel like a good solution, it’s the most comfortable and the one that works least.

Assume for example, that a user is struggling with a feature of his device. It’s not working as he would need it. Instead of searching for a solution that works for him, his reaction is to share with others that “the device doesn’t work properly”. The approach now has shifted from searching for answers on how to use that device to one where the person seeks confirmation for his position. He’s got rid of the initial problem and gained some frustration that the device doesn’t work.

Did it sound like addressing the discomfort? It wasn’t. Addressing would have been to inquire how the feature works and if it can perform the desired task. The result might not be the desired one, but it might allow being clear either on how it works or allowing to know that it can’t work. There is doubt left as to one’s ability to use the device.

Sitting with the discomfort would have been to do one’s homework of figuring out how it works. And learn to use it.

The same is true in many situations. May it be challenges in a team. Or a project you’d like to start.

Writing blog posts sometimes also means to sit with the discomfort. The solution is to type.