Everyone has been in a social situation where they’ve felt uncomfortable or out of place. Of course, these moments are uneasy and often cause a person to fear unfamiliar situations. Yet, this fear can hold us back from chasing our dreams and desires.

For most people, the nature of feeling uncomfortable stems from social anxiety and inexperience with unfamiliar situations. Although, these situations are bound to happen and we must not avoid them.

There is an instinct to leave uncomfortable situations once placed in them. Naturally, I have done this most of the time.  Although, I feel as though the times I reluctantly stayed were the times I had valuable experiences despite my initial uncomfortably. I was at a party where I felt way out of my comfort zone, but I stayed and met one of my closest friends to this day.

One solution to combat these feelings of natural discomfort is to develop a new mindset and attitude; being uncomfortable doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If we learn to adapt to the uncomfortable emotions during new experiences, we will know how to deal with them going forward. Practicing this could be described as the “fake it till you make it” attitude.

I took a trip to London this past summer and found myself in many anxiety-driven situations. Going to the airport and flying on the airplane by myself were anxiety inducing. Not having a guidance or “comfort” person at the time left me to face these situations alone. After the fact, I felt more independent and realized that the fears I had were understandable but unnecessary. Going to a different country by yourself is an unknown situation with expected anxieties, yet I know it helped me break out of my comfort zone and find independence.

The first time I went to a Massachusetts Daily Collegian meeting was an unfamiliar experience for me, I was going alone and had no idea what it would be like. Despite those concerns, I went into it with a positive outlook and hoped to blend in with everyone else. The willingness to enter this unfamiliar territory ultimately gave me a new passion in writing Op/Ed’s that I would have never known about if I didn’t challenge myself to go to the meeting.

Exposure therapy for social anxiety is one of the most well-known ways to grow in your social endeavors. Without experiencing uncomfortable situations, we would have no way of knowing how to  learn from our feelings and grow from them. As we experience more and more unknown situations, we eventually adapt to these feelings.

Acceptance of being uncomfortable is a feeling that even many adults haven’t mastered. It comes with time, experience and maturity. Once we discover how to do this, we gain not only a nuanced world view but also a more nuanced character.

There are ways to find comfort and acceptance in being uncomfortable. Once you figure out how to make that happen for yourself, your opportunities and abilities will be endless.

Julia Brigg can be reached at [email protected]