The Mindset Shift That Changed My Career: Choose Growth Over Comfort

Written By Brian Wickstrom

There was a point early in my career when I realized something important:
Comfort doesn’t create progress. Growth does.

Choosing growth means:

  • Taking on new challenges

  • Learning new skills

  • Accepting feedback

  • Operating outside familiar environments

  • Staying humble and coachable

  • Embracing discomfort as a catalyst

Every major career step I took — from athletics administration to higher education leadership to corporate strategy — came from saying yes to opportunities that stretched me.

Growth builds resilience.
Growth builds confidence.
Growth builds perspective.

When you choose growth over comfort, you open doors that comfort would have kept closed.

It’s a mindset that continues to shape how I lead, how I parent, and how I approach every new chapter.

Further Reading

• Leadership Through Personal Accountability
https://www.dr-brian-wickstrom.com/leadership-through-personal-accountability

• Ethical Leadership & Organizational Trust
https://www.dr-brian-wickstrom.com/ethical-leadership-accountability

• Executive Leadership Philosophy
https://www.dr-brian-wickstrom.com/executive-leadership-philosophy

Brian Wickstrom
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