7.15 Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: Lean In

“I’ve learned that when you push yourself in uncomfortable states for long enough, they become comfortable.” - Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone 

When things get uncomfortable, do you lean in and keep going, or do you quit?

I really don’t like running — especially running miles — but my college coach loved them. At least once a week, we ran timed miles, with sprint work on the other days.

I hated it.

I wasn’t fast, and I couldn’t run long, so I was miserable. It hurt, and I couldn’t keep up with a lot of my teammates.

But then something happened: I got faster. I could run longer. After a month of sticking with it, the workouts started to feel easier.

Well, not easy — but easier.

That’s when I learned something valuable: if you lean in and keep showing up, discomfort becomes strength. When you stick with it and push through, you grow, and what once felt impossible starts to feel possible.

Sydney McLaughlin‑Levrone is a US track and field superstar, widely regarded as the greatest female 400 m hurdler in history. She once said, “I’ve learned that when you push yourself in uncomfortable states for long enough, they become comfortable.”

Growth doesn’t come from staying safe. It comes from doing hard things over and over again until they shape you into something stronger. The pain might not go away, but your capacity will rise.

Laughlin-Levrone also said: “I’m always asking: how can I be better than I was yesterday?”

And: “The pressure we often feel is mainly the pressure we put on ourselves.”

Find ways to get better today, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect because nobody else is.

Question of the Day: When, where, and how can you lean more into discomfort?